Mirrors - The Ego's Weight (Album Review)
Mirrors - The Ego's Weight
Released: November 19, 2021
Line-up:
Patty Goodman // Vocals
Tyson Taifer // Guitar
Jake Mackin // Bass
Rob Brens // Drums
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Crossing leaps and bounds while stepping away from their original djent sound, Mirrors are back to present their debut full-length album. The Gippsland based four-piece have skyrocketed in popularity over recent years, with upcoming shows on the Polaris 'Summer' Aus tour as well as Knight and Day Festival. Is The Ego's Weight enough to further push this band on their upwards trajectory? Let's find out!
The album kicks off with 'Hypnagogia' which instantly draws my attention with its huge industrial sound. It is a short introduction that quickly takes us into 'Beneath The Sand', vocalist Patty Goodman's mid-range vocals sound excellent, he easily switches between hard-hitting unclean vocals and hauntingly beautiful clean vocals. The constant changes in tempo don't feel out of place and creates an easy listening experience. An impressive beginning to the album so far.
Interestingly delivered synths take us into 'Leave Them Behind' and maintains a slower pace for the majority of the song. The soft soothing vocals and delivery of instrumentals show similar characteristics to Thornhill's most recent album The Dark Pool which is something the band has never done before but has been executed perfectly. Next up is 'Automata' which incorporates massive guitar riffs. Jake Mackin (Bass) and Tyson Taifer (Guitar) have outdone themselves in this one. The fast-paced breakdown throughout the outro is mind-bending, there's a lot going on in it, however, it has all meshed into one giant, mosh inducing sound.
Anthemic sounding 'Purple Static' slots into the album perfectly. Goodman reaches those high notes with his clean vocals we haven't heard from him before and they are angelic. Interestingly enough, this soft song manages to produce a breakdown that feels right in every way before returning to the sing-along ballad that it was in the beginning. Bringing it back with big-sounding guitars is 'What We'll Never See', intermittent bursts between soft and heavy, fast and slow is what we see here. Drummer Rob Brens performs exceptionally with his art being my main focus on the track, his performance is impressive. Goodman impresses me yet again with his skills as he transitions between clean and unclean with ease as he hits those high notes without strain.
Arguably the heaviest song on the album, 'Rebirth' starts off with a very strong introduction and leaves me on the edge of my seat as I anticipate what is to come. This sounds more like the classic Mirrors that we have all come to love with new aspects included. Intricate yet beefy guitar riffs lead the charge through the track as I hold off the urge to spin kick. Bringing it back to the slower, anthemic style that we were introduced to earlier on this album is 'Hereditary'. The slow sing-along ballad has vocalist Goodman impressing me yet again, he is presenting vocal skills that he has never shown before, it's simply beautiful and I cannot get enough.
'The Last Page' takes us straight into what feels like an alt-rock guitar riff, this sound is carried through the entirety of the track. it seems as if the band was trying to create a radio-friendly, heavy(ish) song. It misses the mark for me, perhaps the soft anthemic sound the band is trying to create on the majority of these songs is beginning to wear thin on me. The song does include a riffy breakdown which to me feels out of place and not fitting with the rest of the track. Continuing on the same soft trend as the previous song 'For You' is simplistic in nature. The instrumentals are perhaps slightly underwhelming, however, the focus seems to be on the lyrics and its powerful message. The album closes out with 'Moral Decay' which seems to incorporate aspects from nearly every song, the heavy and the soft.
Without undermining the quality of a lot of these tracks, the repetitive nature of the album began to sound stale towards the end of the record. For the most part, this album is a refreshing take on the band's new sound and I am excited to see how it reacts with well established and new fans.
Mirrors - The Ego's Weight tracklisting:
1. Hypnagogia
2. Beneath The Sand
3. Leave Them Behind
4. Automata
5. Purple Static
6. What We'll Never See
7. Rebirth
8. Hereditary
9. The Last Page
10. For You
11. Moral Decay
Rating: 8/10
The Ego's Weight is out this Friday through Resist Records. Pre-Order here
Review by Adam Rice
Revisit our interview with Mirrors frontman Patty Goodman here
