Little did they know, MisterWives lead singer Mandy Lee was busy doing what she does best: pouring her emotions into compositions. She took the heartwrenching struggles of her career, the pandemic and her personal life and transformed them into a vulnerable creation for MisterWives that encapsulates her anger and pain. The resulting album, Nosebleeds, was released in July by the band's new independent record label, Resilient Little Records.
"It's funny how time can help you arrive at things differently," Lee says. "I was so in the trenches of us getting dropped, and our bandmate quit all within a couple of weeks. We all experienced COVID collectively, and I had so much personally going on, as well, that I remember writing [the title track] 'Nosebleeds' and just feeling like, 'Is this even good?' I was crying the whole time, trying not to cry on the mic."
Lee's evocative writing isn't new. One of MisterWives' claims to fame is compelling, honest and emotional tunes that often carry a soft silver lining. The band's most popular song, "SUPERBLOOM," is representative of this musical ethos — it's upbeat and jazzy, with lyrics that sparkle with optimism and hope. But that's where the new album deviates from the band's older work. Lee intentionally left that silver lining out.
"Prior to Nosebleeds, I had written almost a whole other album," she says, recalling the new record's unexpected origin back in 2021. "I think the music and me trying to paint silver linings over how tough things were just didn't sit right with me. It felt like it was a disservice to what we had gone through."
Isolation and lockdown were particularly difficult for Lee, who found herself steadily spiraling into a dark mental space. So she started therapy, a decision she believes was the key to allowing herself to show up in her music as an authentic, multifaceted person.
"I just allowed the most honest parts of myself to show up, and in that, it brought rage and all these things I've suppressed my whole life to the surface," Lee says. "It was a really freeing, cathartic experience to break out of what was expected from us, and to break out of what I had been suppressing for a really long time."
Nosebleeds not only represents Lee's personal shifts, but the whole band's. Even MisterWives' color palette has shifted: Bright, playful album covers steeped with the nostalgia of tree houses, sunsets and connect-the-dot drawings have been replaced by the brooding gray, white and red that represents the new album. Although MisterWives is entering a new musical era — one that's arguably darker than what the band was known for — Lee emphasizes that at its core, it's the same beloved indie-pop group from three years ago. It's just a little more grown-up.
"I think it's just like growing up. You look at photos of yourself and you're like, 'Oh, I used to look like this or dress like this.' It's the same with music," Lee says. "Wow, I feel like our music has changed tremendously. The heart of it is still true, that what I've experienced, what we've experienced — that's the real snapshot of what we are going through. I think the music is obviously a little darker because we are touching on subjects like rage or anger or the messy middle. But at the end of the day...it's still MisterWives."
Denver fans can see that for themselves when the band plays a show at Mission Ballroom with Bishop Briggs on Sunday, October 1. With revealing lyrics and heavy instrumentation, the angst in Nosebleeds is often palpable, especially in the album's first song, "Out of Your Mind," in which Lee sings, "Stab my back and twist it twice, like that first time I'll survive." Etienne Bowler, MisterWives percussionist and Lee's husband, describes the album as "a rage room."
However, snippets of resilience and hope are intertwined with the album's anger and pain. The last track, "Ultraviolet," instantly stands out from the rest of the album. Similar to "Silver Lining," the track is downtempo and a little more mellow than the shredding electric guitar and thumping drums that jump-start many of the songs. But the tempo isn't the only thing that makes "Ultraviolet" unique; despite the song's audible differences, Lee says the track encompasses the core of the entire record.
"I think it's just like growing up. You look at photos of yourself and you're like, 'Oh, I used to look like this or dress like this.' It's the same with music," Lee says. "Wow, I feel like our music has changed tremendously. The heart of it is still true, that what I've experienced, what we've experienced — that's the real snapshot of what we are going through. I think the music is obviously a little darker because we are touching on subjects like rage or anger or the messy middle. But at the end of the day...it's still MisterWives."
Denver fans can see that for themselves when the band plays a show at Mission Ballroom with Bishop Briggs on Sunday, October 1. With revealing lyrics and heavy instrumentation, the angst in Nosebleeds is often palpable, especially in the album's first song, "Out of Your Mind," in which Lee sings, "Stab my back and twist it twice, like that first time I'll survive." Etienne Bowler, MisterWives percussionist and Lee's husband, describes the album as "a rage room."
However, snippets of resilience and hope are intertwined with the album's anger and pain. The last track, "Ultraviolet," instantly stands out from the rest of the album. Similar to "Silver Lining," the track is downtempo and a little more mellow than the shredding electric guitar and thumping drums that jump-start many of the songs. But the tempo isn't the only thing that makes "Ultraviolet" unique; despite the song's audible differences, Lee says the track encompasses the core of the entire record.
"The concept [for 'Ultraviolet'] came to me after seeing photos of these flowers that, under UV light and only in complete darkness, you could see these beautiful, glittering technicolor patterns," Lee explains. "That's what sparked the song. ... Through total darkness, we can find the beauty and our strength and these things that you wouldn't be able to see in the light."
MisterWives and Bishop Briggs play Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 1. Tickets range from $42-$75.
