Mikayla Menzies perfectly captures the beautiful collision of pain and poetry in her latest release, “Misery.” And we’re not just talking about strife as this Canadian singer-songwriter invites you into it, and her songs are a gripping soundtrack to a journey that tested her body and spirit.
Written on a soul-shaking road trip across the Canadian countryside, “Misery” is a confession. During the journey, Menzies became ill with a mysterious sickness on the way to Tofino, a small surf town on Vancouver Island. She poured her frankness into melody as dizziness, muscle aches, and disorientation seeped into her bones. The outcome is a song that aches in all the right spots.
“Misery” feels like fog rolling in over a long stretch of empty road. Produced by Joshua Seyeau, the soundscape is spare but heavy with emotion. Spacey guitars, gentle percussion, and Mikayla’s plaintive vocals create the portrait of a woman fighting to keep herself together as everything is coming apart. There’s beauty in the bleakness, a kind of cold comfort in how she sings.
Menzies does not dramatize her pain but honors it. Her voice quakes at times and is firm at others, the voice of someone who has survived discomfort without succumbing to losing its power. It’s in how she sings of her body waging war against her as her heart focuses on the horizon. “Misery” isn’t about self-pity but about survival. It’s about taking a breath in when the air is thick, about moving through the world when the road unravels endlessly. Although the song explores some of the darker corners of the human experience, it gently elevates you, as if to say you are not alone in your struggle.
Mikayla Menzies doesn’t just return with this release but reclaims. “Misery” is an unapologetic reminder that music can be both medicine and memory, and Mikayla isn’t afraid to bleed a little if it means telling the truth.
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