mmmonika’s debut three singles had me in a synesthetic, sapphire stupor

mmmonika%E2%80%99s+debut+three+singles+had+me+in+a+synesthetic%2C+sapphire+stupor

Cerulean, cyan, and slate. mmmonika released their first three singles over the summer, soaking soundtracks with their sonority. Midnight, majorelle, marian. Three starkly different songs that unified under one theme. Tiffany, turquoise, teal. They all pealed with pallets of periwinkle, Prussian, and pacific—blues that had me feeling anything but blue.  

As the musical tides rolled in, mmmonika’s “Swamp Time!” was the first to submerge me in its sound. When I closed my eyes and began to look with my ears, I saw the blue of arctic ice, the blue of soap bubbles, and the blue of blooming wisteria. The lyrics of this song held symptoms of sweetness but were translated with scarring strength.

“Swamp Time!” Was a scuffed love song and a picturesque mess—a bowl of nails served with TLC. With a stridulant name and sound, yet soft lyrics, “Swamp Time!” puts the marsh in marshmallow.

Following “Swamp Time!” was “Unwind Me!”—a change of pace to a catchy continuation of mmmonika’s music. While my eyes were closed, I saw a dark room illuminated by blue LED lights. My slow mind and perception began outlining fast-moving bodies: a bedroom dance party. The blue percolated into my skin as I felt like my feet had shaken off their sleepiness to go and test the waters of the dancefloor.

“Unwind Me!” had me seeing, hearing, and tasting blue all while feeling elated. During my listening session, my veins danced as they spread this music throughout my body. Nerves, cells, and bones thriving off of the infectious intonation. 

Completing the musical trifecta, “see me on the outside” was bouncy, beachy, brilliant, and—of course—blue. This song was an easy favorite of mmmonika’s discography. The rhythm, lyrics, everything was all beautifully blue. “I’m searching for paradise / No bites yet, but it’s awful nice” epitomizes mmmonika’s lyricism and the way it melts in your mouth.

“see me on the outside” shared the fluidity of a rushing river. It was an imagination of the sky blue of the stratosphere and the surfside blue of the seas; its sunny sound tanned my skin as I left this song feeling that much more sunkissed.

Oceans, robin eggs, and forget-me-nots are all boisterous, behavior-boosting blues, and after hearing these three songs, mmmonika has definitely merited a spot on that list.