Music Review // Mindy Gledhill "Rabbit Hole"

https://www.mindygledhill.com/ //

I'm not sure why exactly but I've always had this soft spot for "Alice In Wonderland".   Growing up, I watched pretty much all of the Disney animated movies, and as I got to be an adult I didn't see the thrill in buying the special edition three disc box set of "The Little Mermaid" or "Aladdin" or... Well, really, anything except for "Alice In Wonderland".   (Though I do hold a special place for "The Black Cauldron" as well, but for different reasons)  Maybe it was the characters.   Maybe it was the animation.  Maybe it was the fact that it was supposed to be a kids movie but even as an adult you kind of go "We watched this as kids?"

Whether or not it wants to be, I assume the titular track which starts this album called "Rabbit Hole" is a nod to Alice.   It starts off with beautiful vocals and a piano which at first can make you think of something more traditional, something along the lines of being classical.    When the second song hits though, this album really finds its stride.   It's a lighter sound now, more like a pop rock and there are horns in here as well.    It's catchy and I definitely enjoy the idea that  "You've got to live a little in the dark to appreciate the morning light". 

One thing I like about music is that you never know what's going to happen and you learn something new with it all the time.  In all the years I've been writing about music (more than I care to admit) I have never actually said this in any way so I feel it is time to out myself on this one.   Back in the '90's, this band burst onto the scene- mainly with a video on MTV- called No Doubt.   They had this song called "Just A Girl" and that album was huge.   But... I've never really listened to that album.   I've never owned it.   I don't know why, I just never did.  I did, however, own and love their follow up to that album called "Return of Saturn" and I still think it's one of those "best of all-time" albums and definitely my favorite from No Doubt.

I only type all of that because this can remind me of No Doubt, but more specifically No Doubt on "Return of Saturn" because I didn't really listen to any other No Doubt albums.  "Bluebird" has these sort of folk guitars while "One" and "The Wish" are dreamy.    There is this sound within these songs of something from the 1990's that is not as well known to someone who wasn't around and listening to music then.   Jill Sobule, That Dog, The Cardigans, Sixpence None the Richer, Lisa Loeb... you get the idea.    It might be less like the music that is out now only because I listen to less "pop" music now than I did in the 1990's, but I mean, this is something you would've heard on the radio back in 1995.

That big piano sound returns on "Icarus" and the final song is called "Adios Carino", which is interesting because the idea of it saying goodbye makes sense, as it is the last song, but it has this more upbeat salsa rhythm to it, but I suppose it is better to end on that high note than in a sad way because the overall vibe from this album is more optimistic.    And I think that's the state music is in now: There is hope, there is great music out there, you just have to find it.   When I was growing up, it was on MTV and the radio, right in front of me, so easy to access.   Now it might not feel as easy to find because who knows what the radio is doing anymore, but when you do find it- like this album- it is definitely worth it.