Totally Mild Stays Gentle On "Her"

It's hard to stay composed all the time when faced with life. There's an element of self-restrain, but at the same time its important to make sure you have an outlet for your crises. Totally Mild stays gentle on Her as she faces her problems headfirst.

Her has an atmosphere such that you feel at peace but understand that something is wrong. From the beautifully gentle 'Sky' that searches for hope in its sluggish trudge to the more dejectedly optimistic 'Working Like A Crow' with its big, jamming ending, Her channels a lot of different struggles and outlooks. The more driven tracks like 'Take Today' are more uplifting, trying to look on the bright side of things. The pretty verses give way to cheerful choruses that just wash over you, really making you feel like taking command of the day.

There's a sweetness in Her that adds a very unassuming tone to the record. 'Pearl' has a very taut smoothness, and adds on from the minimalism from the opening track. The sweetness of 'Lucky Stars' just makes you feel good and warm, while closing track 'Down Together' ties the whole album together, bringing in all the elements of the songs before it to really take the album out on a high. There are moments where it does feel like the gentleness is dragging the album out a bit, like in 'More' where the end makes up for the uneventful body.

Totally Mild stays gentle on Her, facing life with optimism even in the face of everything going wrong. It's important to remember to keep yourself grounded and give yourself an outlet even when keeping your cool, and perhaps you can find that outlet in Her.

Favorite Tracks: Down Together, Sky

Least Favorite Track: More

Rating: 71 / 100

Stream or buy Her on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: