It’s a busy year for Melkbelly vocalist/guitarist Miranda Winters. Melkbelly recently dropped a new two-song single, and today Miranda releases her debut solo album as Mandy, Lawn Girl, on Exploding In Sound. It’s technically a solo album, but it was recorded with a full band and the album’s ’90s-style indie/grunge vibes don’t fall far from the Melkbelly tree. It’s a blast to listen to and Miranda’s got a voice and perspective that stands out within the sea of ’90s rock revivalists. She sheds more light on the album in a track-by-track breakdown that she’s given to BV, and you can read what she had to say below.
**
TRACK-BY-TRACK BREAKDOWN OF MANDY’S LAWN GIRL BY MIRANDA WINTERS
“Forsythia”
This is a claustrophobic song about travel and change and I started writing it in a parking lot in New Mexico when the sun was coming up and everyone else on tour was still asleep. It’s a nostalgic song that came from a place of sadness like most of the songs on this record. The guitars were particularly fun to record for this track. Taylor (Hales) was excited to try a bunch of different stuff and there are a couple of Dave’s (Vettraino) tricks in there.
“High School Boyfriend”
As stated in other places previously, this song is a revenge fantasy. But what does that even mean? I suppose it’s about deciding not to cringe and instead grabbing an impressionable youth and telling them a story in the hopes that they won’t make the same mistakes. That always works, right? Originally this song was a synth filled fever dream with baby voices as backing vocals and electronic drums. Thankfully my old harddrive died and dragged that version to Hell along with it.
“Elder Fire”
Have you ever heard the cover of X’s “Unheard Music” that Elastica did with Stephen Malkmus? I heard it as an adolescent and it changed me forever. It brought me to a place that felt safe and free from the indescribable pain of being 14. This is a song about how powerful friendships are when we’re young. You’ll put up with a lot and find joy in strange places. I attempted to recreate that safe space I found in certain songs early on in my life. This is one of the tracks we played a finished version of back into the studio for the room mics.
“Mickey”
Initially I didn’t want to record this song as a full band but Wendy and Lizz and Linda were pretty pumped about trying it. I’m glad they suggested it because this version feels right in a way the solo versions I played or recorded previously never did. A large part of that is the space that Lizz’s bass takes up. This is another song about intense friendships and that time of unconditional love that nothing can ruin. Until something ruins it.
“Ms Appear”
There is another version of this song that has electronic drums, maybe that will show up some day, for now listen to this! We brought the dry erase board diagram of this song to Electrical Audio with us because we only played it once or twice the week before but the energy in the room felt good. I wanted all the ‘wait’s to sound vaguely like a pack of dogs.
“Now That I’m A Woman”
To me this song represents bursting from a cocoon and wondering WTF is going on and inching toward the realization that our most authentic selves are often who we were when we started. It’s a cover of a song from the greatest movie of all time – The Last Unicorn. In this movie the character Molly Grue in particular speaks to me as she’s an old Hag who has waited her whole life to see a unicorn and when she finally meets one yells at it for taking so long. I recorded this song when I was super sick because I like the sound of a heavy vocal fold. And also because lately asthma complications and various vocal injuries seems to be constant enough that I have to learn to operate with them.
“A Series Of Small Explosions”
This is a song about a shitty relationship, a real bummer. And I love that when the track ends if you listen closely there’s a bunch of laughing and friendly chatter between bandmates. I didn’t hear it until the test pressings came in and I’m so happy it’s there. The song couldn’t end any other way.
“Acid Base”
We had a blast double tracking the drums for this song. I’d call it a good old fashioned love song and I’m not sure I’ve ever made one of those before. This song was written on a wurlitzer and had three different melodies (minimum) before I told myself it had to be written down one way, recorded and then set free.
“C’mon And Do Thee Exist”
This is a song about putting one foot in front of the other to slog through life even when it feels like the most rational thing is to not do that. If you’re ever feeling a certain type of way it’s important to find a friend, a family member or a professional to help. There are always solutions. Even when you can’t see them, they’re there. I recorded this song on my lonesome and turned it into something else with the help of magical Mike Montgomery’s mastering.