Jul 7, 20232 min read

moving mirrors release, "Second Hand Lover" may Require a Drink or a Smoke After Listening.

moving mirror "Second Hand Lover" - The Cage, a music blog by Cage Riot — Courtesy of moving mirrors

moving mirrors release, "Second Hand Lover" may require a drink or a smoke after listening because ..... well it's just not that simple...

Eerie and instantly creating a moment of self-reflection, I stopped this song 4x at the very opening verse. Upon hearing, "My mind and my heart don't agree", it was a revelation. We carry two worlds of emotion, and they clash at every juncture. moving mirrors "Second Hand Lover" made me feel a wound I didn't know I even had. We literally all argue, and are at war in a virtual reality cage match, in our own minds.

The light drum taps are a simplicity that lulls you into a dark place where these personal wars exist. The drumming is light but also rapid and erratic but that makes you fixate...and just listen. The hypnotic guitars creep in so slowly and then amplify with an intensity and are paired with a Broadway opera-esque vocal performance that blends in with a James Bond-sounding support track. Is it an existential force at hand?

The words disseminated are an unending barrage of thoughts and then again I fixate on "my mind and my heart don't agree". I see images of myself dragging myself away from my own bad (or good) choices and my regrets, with the past failures written all over the walls...and then me walking away and through the door of poor decisions once again. This song is an audible drug that converts your hearing into a literal chemical change that arouses your personal sensations and doubts. The guitars enter the scene again and drive harder and faster methodically and into a frenzy and then they are enveloped into the vocals with a culmination that is akin to the dust that falls after the bomb explodes and we are emerging from the shock. It makes me feel the war we were waging with ourselves was lost because no matter which wins, there is always a loser.

The ending is impossible to remember and yet etched in my desire to hear it again. I return to the beginning and now I am angered. How did I lose to myself? I am reminded "my mind and my heart don't agree". Bassy undertones fill the voids and rumble the virtual words I see in my mind. The next lull and the drums appear to slow, the guitars, and I listen again. This song is a masterpiece of a musical journey and is an absolute gem and I am eagerly awaiting more from moving mirrors and cannot wait to see this live.