Woman in charge: Ms. M|CHL convinces

with the fantastic rock album Anaxiphilia. 

~Translated by: RJ Dwyer

With the supremely powerful album title Anaxiphilia and the subtitle “An act of falling in love with the wrong person”, the ambitious musician, songwriter, and singer Ms. M|CHL (alternative spelling for Ms. Michl) has published an album, whose name and descriptive title are all part of the performance. Moving stylistically among Alternative, Indie Rock, and Grunge, but also Pop or R&B, this album is exactly what the title lets on. With a rock-like nature and a talented songwriter as well as singer, this 13-track debut album was let loose onto the Indie-rock scene about four months after the release of the advance single Pretend, and it comes along not only with a killer female voice and skillful songwriting, but also with a sound that’s not only lively and fresh, but also diverse. Ms. M|CHL grew up in the state of Oklahoma, having her first musical experiences along with her family as a singer in the church choir. At the age of 12, she started to write and compose, being inspired by acts like Prince and Whitney Houston. During high school, she discovered bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails spoke to her as a woman in charge, and her love for rock music was ignited. Later when she ended up in Los Angeles, Ms. M|CHL was a back-up singer for artists such as the Hip Hop group Strange Fruit or active in the Don Haney Blues Band. Getting back to the present, this dynamic performer is unveiling her debut album Anaxiphilia, which is what today is about. The first track Always You opens with a cheerful mix of high-tone lead guitar, powerful and blanketing bass guitar, and drums at a continuous mid-tempo. Sticking with a mid-tempo and a catchy beat, this opener from Ms. M|CHL’s debut album Anaxiphilia has a downright cheerful mood. Thematically, it’s about being freshly in love, and that this feeling is sometimes the only thing that can get you through your day. With musical fingertips on the guitars and skillful songwriting, Ms. M|CHL presents you with an opening track which immediately fulfills all positive expectations in her. The rock song gets straight to building itself up in your listening space with a driving force, and creates a powerful wall of sound, which lures the listener in, and ensures a good mood. Rhythm guitar and bass create here in the verse a supporting element for the song of Ms. M|CHL, whose beautiful voice is perfected suited for the music. After a break shortly before the refrain, the song is surprising with regards to what awaits the listener, since you aren’t prepared for it, consequently giving way to complex composing. If Always You introduced the debut album from Ms. M|CHL in a successful way, then Don’t Led Red comes along surprisingly in a sort of Indie Rock flavored R&B front, characterized by a rhythmic, perfectly danceable electronic arrangement, and yet still somehow doesn’t get quite too far from the feeling of the opening track. Here, the breath-takingly beautiful voice of Ms. M|CHL comes into its own, since the light, minimalistic sound of synthesizers, electronic drums, and clean guitar still give her voice some room to play and don’t steal the show. But for all that, Don’t Led Red is no insignificant track, on the contrary! With the teamwork of the individual components, it’s convincing, surprising, and perfectly show-cases the multifaceted-ness of this artist. With regards to content, the song is a warning to anyone who wants to let go of good things, for fear of making a mistake, there’s no such thing as roses without thorns, and everyone has their faults. Those who can’t see beauty and who only give consideration to mistakes, will lose every time. Pretend combines the sound of guitars that could be from a Surf Rock production, and electronic R&B. Starting off with guitars and the lovely voice of Ms. M|CHL, at first you don’t know what’s headed for you until you get a fusion of electronic and acoustic music, by way of voluminous synthesized bass, MPC drum beats in a moderate tempo, and some interesting synth sounds. This will be giving you goosebumps by the refrain at the latest, while a bright string synthesizer in the background bears up the voice of the singer and brings out the best in the song, that gets into your skin and touches the soul of the fan of such sophisticated songwriting. Even if her voice alone has a commanding presence, the chorus is the crown on the song, that has an autobiographical feel, to which Ms. M|CHL tells her tale, speaking entirely from personal experience, about how she met her first love. No Difference is also about the personal experiences of this female artist and offers up strange “pieces of advice” that she’s been given. Style-wise firmly in Pop Rock, this song convinces you it belongs in the charts with its great sound, interesting instrumentalization and songwriting, as well as the melodic work as a whole! Another masterpiece was created here anew, that measures up to the legends, and that represents an elevated musical standing. With the break-up song The Bath showing its raging nature, you could think that Ms. M|CHL was collaborating then and there with Kris Novoselic and Dave Grohl. This reminds a bit you of musically high-quality material, that is to say it reminds you 100% of Nirvana’s In Utero time. For anyone who wanted to know what the band would have sounded like with a female singer at the mic, you’ll get a musically awesome and absolutely rocking answer here. Come Back serves up moderate Alt Rock and satisfies you with a straight Rock sound, which the talented singer and songwriter do justice to. The epic song The Happening keeps broadly to a Pop Rock sound that makes marginal but skillful use of the electric guitar, which also features captivating songwriting. The next number keeps us going in ¾ time: To The Extreme! The seemingly progressive track captivates you not only through (who’d have thought?) simply fantastic, musically pioneering work, but also through its intimate nature, to which the artist grants you glimpses into her soul. Until Then is unbelievably vibrant and planted firmly in Pop Rock. Every song on Anaxiphilia wins you over in every regard. Not only are the songs technically and musically simply an acoustic testimony to pursued perfection, but also lyrically and vocally simply epic. The accomplished work of the sound techs completes it all.Bottom line: 10/10: Friends of high-quality songwriter art, of Hard Rock, but who also like it quieter sometimes, und who want talented female singers, are hereby obligated to secure of copy of the debut album, Anaxiphilia from this talented artist, Ms. M|CHL.