“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal
New female-fronted Indie-Rock artist Mike and Mandy release “Shelter in Place,” their debut EP, featuring “Ricochet (extended version)” which sums up our collective COVID angst and expresses it with a quirky take on someone going around-the-bend. A driving new wave beat and an unexpected shift in time signature evokes the bumper car ride as the main character heads for rock bottom.
“…reminds me of Oingo Boingo” – grammy winning rock drummer
We’ve all seen friends/family pursue self-satisfaction at all costs. Call it addiction or bouncing between romantic partners, the pull to self-destruct can seem limitless. “Ricochet” tells the story of a single mother on a downward spiral, alongside a concerned school principal and a shady uber driver. She’s clearly headed for a crash. And we can’t help but listen.
Mike and Mandy are producer-writer-husband Michael Faulkner and singer-songwriter-wife Amanda Pajer. Both lost jobs at the beginning of the pandemic, but an even bigger loss was the cancellation of their weekly live gigs as a tribute band. With nothing to lose, they turned the lack of possibilities into an opportunity to pursue long-buried dreams of recording original material at home, while subsisting on lentils and rice. Both in recovery, each knows from experience what rock-bottoms look like, and “Ricochet” encapsulates a journey that too many know all too well.
- Listen to the entire EP on your streaming service of choice
- Listen to Ricochet (extended)
- Watch the music video for the original Ricochet single release (unextended)