For the past few years, behind his bedroom door, Mike Waters had been penning, playing and proofing a few tunes that he had thrown together on his guitar. From this he decided to ditch his desk job and put together an indie pop wonder, by way of his debut four track EP ‘Life’. The decision of jumping from office desk to centre stage must’ve been hard, but from the bottom our hearts, we say thank you Mr Waters. ‘Life’ brings together Waters’ bright and easily loveable voice, pop melodies and brutally honest lyricism that proves impossible not to fall in love with.
The opening track Daisy creeps up on you. Diving into a light hearted jam, delicate guitar and wistfully whistling, instantly fall involve with a joyous tune. Yet as you expect a cute and playful love song, Waters brings a punch from left field. Waters opposes the light heartedness of the tune with a brutally honest confession of unrequited love. “Just don’t say you love me/ ‘cause I won’t say it back” has got to be one of the most heartbreaking lyric to come out of anyone’s mouth ever. After one track alone, you know that Mike Waters has a long and bright future.
Dreams goes through a similar indie pop sound, this time combining auric layering to the other acoustic driven parts of the track, Waters dedicates this song to a loved one in the next life. The track slowly wells as he allows us more and more glimpses into his story of loss. But don’t stress, as your just about to release those tears you’ve been holding back for three and a half minutes, Feels Like Home jumps into to be the upbeat number you’ve been waiting for to lift your spirits. The anthemic track starts with guitar and claps but builds beautifully into a glorious swell of happiness. Waters has been able to turn that feeling where you can’t hold back a smile into music and words and my god does it leave you feeling a euphoric happiness.
‘Life’ is the most appropriate title for this record. Guiding us through the struggles, hardships and some vulnerable moments of his own life, we are able to truly connect to Waters as a musician and a person. His maturity in songwriting goes beyond his years of experience. Some artists take years to perfect their craft, others are born with the knack of penmanship. Mike Waters proves he is definitely one to make veterans of the scene insanely jealous. His incorporation of a multitude of instruments shows he’s truly a master of his craft. Even after the twentieth time you listen to the record (and believe me you will be) you will still be discovering the intricacies of his orchestral-like arrangement of his songs.
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