On Jan. 19, indie pop duo Mickey Darling performed at Terminal West to a devoted and energetic audience that seemed dead-set on losing their voices. The band is famous for its authentic bedroom pop mixed with both bold and unserious lyrics, making for addicting sing-along songs that are easy to resonate with.
Mickey Darling consists of Skyler Molina, the “creative” of the band who contributes the vocals and lyrics for their songs. Austin Medrano is the band’s other half, and he supplies the instrumentals while also recording Mickey Darling’s songs.
All of their music is independently released, and the duo intends to keep it that way to retain the band’s authenticity and autonomy. On their website, Molina and Medrano jokingly call the band, “Our DIY dream so we don’t have to sell our souls to corporate America.”
The concert kicked off with an opening set by indie-alternative band Yin. Their pop-based sound combined with blinding overhead strobe lights made their music overstimulating but exhilarating. Lead singer Jordan Mitchell took a break in between songs to deliver a heartfelt message about Atlanta, the band’s hometown. He said that, as a kid, he came to Terminal West to see some of his favorite bands, and he felt honored to finally play at the venue. The band finished by playing “Trauma,” an obvious crowd favorite.
Soon after, the second opener, Nick Wagen, began his set with his new single “my bad,” hooking the crowd with his simple yet alluring stage presence. Wagen then posed a question to the audience: “Does anyone like the Cure?” He was met with enthusiastic screams as he covered “Friday I’m in Love.”
A few songs later, Wagen introduced his guitarist, Ben Ironside, who releases his own music under the name Benten. He played his song “second placing,” and the crowd was immediately infatuated. Wagen followed with a few more songs, but the audience’s chant of “Ben! Ben! Ben!” became too much to ignore, so…
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