MIHI NIHIL – “SO PLEASE”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
Fresh band Mihi Nihil follows the release of their debut album with a bold new single that pleads and laments with “cinematic tones full of grit”.
MIihi Nihil (say: Mee-Kee Nee-Keel) is an emerging band from Los Angeles, CA comprising of Mihi Vox (vocals), Benjamin Montoya (guitar), Nick Steinberg (bass) and Adam Alt (drums). The group are long time friends whose sound is described as “the living portrait of art rock,” “the most beautiful translation of melancholy to music” and “street-poet post-punk.”
Their eponymous debut album, produced by Adam Lasus (Yo La Tengo, PJ Harvey, Madder Rose), arrived digitally April 15 2021 and reached #1 on Amazon, #15 on iTunes and #18 on the NACC most added charts. The record received radio/publication support in over 17 countries and was included on the 2021 Grammy ballot under Best Alternative Music Album.
With almost half the songs on their debut in feature films, their music proves to have cinematic qualities. Delivering a melodic sound rooted in post-punk, Mihi Nihil pulls from a kaleidoscope of influences including early Radiohead, Neil Young, The Clash, Ennio Morricone, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Pixies. The four head to Austin, TX this March to play the largest showcase for up and coming acts in the U.S. in support of their new soulful gothic-country ode “So Please.” Keep a look out for additional releases expected to follow throughout the year.
ARTIST QUOTE
“”So Please” is a story of wavering love and whether life is worth living when that love is lost. Nick, our bassist, said it best when he coined the phrase “Gothy Parton” for this song because it dances between soul, country, punk and gothic music. We write all our songs together in one room. So our individual influences, whether it’s The Clash or Johnny Cash, come out in our song writing. We write in a very free-form fashion. “So Please” was mostly formed in the initial 6:53min jam of the idea. The rhythmic pattern, bass and guitar tones and chords and vocal melodies for the verse and chorus were all there. Even a few words like “so please” existed in that subconscious moment. It came out sounding more country/blues than our other songs but we didn’t shy away from that. The vocal melody definitely pulls from Mihi’s background in bluegrass and holds true to the old lyric themes of death and the afterlife and life’s hardships. The landscape of the song is one of deserts, canyons and hazy colors of sundown. We love the classics. We love a good story. This is one of ours. We hope you like it.”
Mihi Nihil
[Single]
(Flora Toro Records)
Release Date: February 21, 2023