Miranda and The Beat– Miranda and The Beat (photo by Julia Khoroshilov)
According to their bio, Miranda and The Beat formed in true gritty rock and roll fashion: singer Miranda Zipse and drummer Kim Sollecito moved to NYC from small town California, where they shared a bed in an apartment, “giving up all their possessions and sacrificing a tawdry normal existence to lead a true path of illuminated rock n’roll.” They met Dylan Fernandez when he was delivering weed and added him as a Farfisa player; current bassist Alvin Jackson is his little brother, replacing former member Kate Gutwald. Their self titled debut album Miranda and The Beat is imbued with soul, brimming with garage-rock guitar, 60’s psych-tinged organ and funky beats. The overall effect is one of standing in a funhouse, floor tilting underneath and mirrors reflecting back a swirling lava lamp of colors.
The lead track “Sweat” kicks everything off with a slinky, soulful melody that evokes a hot summer night and crowded rooms, and apparently hangover sweats (“all up in my crack.”) The color saturated, out of focus music video pairs perfectly with the song, which sets the tone for the record with Zipse’s frantic guitar and strong voice punctuating the groovy beats.
The follow up single “Concrete” is more of an upbeat, dance-punk number, probably the most head-bopping track to be found here.
The songs on the album have a similar sound but are executed with different moods: “I’m Not Your Baby” and “When Are You Coming Home” slink along with an atmosphere that wouldn’t be out of place in a Bond film, and “Not My Guy” is a waltzy, jangly ballad primed for a slow dance in a near empty club under a twirling mirrorball.
Miranda and The Beat isn’t a long album, clocking in at ten songs with none over four minutes (the shortest, “ODR,” is a 42 second blast of quickly building garage-rock catharsis) and is pretty much the dictionary definition of “all killer, no filler.” The record sounds great too, with mixing and production from Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s easy to follow the line from Miranda and The Beat’s earliest singles like 2018’s “Dont Play Me” to 2020’s “Such A Fool” 7-inch that came out on Third Man, to this full length debut, and see a maturing of their sound and style.
Miranda and The Beat (photo by Kate Hoos)
Miranda and The Beat is out now on Ernest Jenning Record Co. and King Khan’s Khannibalism label, with Khan quoted as saying: “I never thought I would see someone be able to play guitar with the ferocity of Link Wray, and sing like Lydia Lunch had a nuclear meltdown and morphed into Etta James and Yma Sumac.” You can also catch Miranda and The Beat on tour this summer, with a Brooklyn show on July 22nd at The Sultan Room along with Thelma and The Sleaze and Skorts.