MIKE’s most recent project (at the time of writing), Disco!, radiated surety. This was in 2021, and MIKE brought a renewed spirit to the mic following a series of perfect records ruminating on the loss of his mother. Now we have Beware of the Monkey, which brings back some of that reserved thoughtfulness. MIKE makes gentle forays into new sonic territory, taking on more yacht rock and dry production, cautious explorations that feel like the product of a creator who has been hurt before, and left wary of drifting too far from where his heart lies. His writing constantly returns to a kind of flux state:

“Sit tight through the fog, it be bigger floods”,

“Walk patient, living in the heat with my thoughts racing”,

“Rather trip, I can’t exist too passively”.

Momentary conclusions of this nature are MIKE's bread and butter, and on this tape they continually speak to transient nature of life, vices, and relationships. Uncertainty may have dented MIKE’s confidence, but he’ll keep moving regardless. In the meantime, he deserves all praise for this work. It is excellent.

85

Sam Gollings

22 December 2023