TUNES // Totally Mild – Today Tonight

Post by Colleen

There’s a paper version of me I can present with pride. It’s laid out in a tidy one-sheet, perfected(ish) over the years in InDesign, which I learned how to do in college. This college campus is also a botanical garden.

Then there’s the non-paper version of me, the one others don’t often see. It’s me during all the in-between times; the times by myself at home, in my car, at Fryman Canyon or in bed trying to go to sleep. This is the one that has endless thoughts about how young I am and how much I still need to and can accomplish. This is the one that also tells me how old I am and how much time I’ve wasted.

Sometimes the in-between times are what bring me down if I let it spiral. But then sometimes the in-between times are the ones that bring freedom and grace. Just now, I walked out of a movie theater (shouts to everyone who goes to movies by themselves). I looked out and it was the perfect arrangement of cumulus clouds, a cerulean sky and a brisk mid-sixties air. In that moment that’s all I needed for happiness. I didn’t doubt any of the choices I made to get to that peaceful place.

While listening to Totally Mild’s “Today Tonight,” I hear frontwoman Elizabeth Mitchell in a similar place. It’s a place of self-reflection and hopeful progress. It’s a place where we know how to feel better, it’s just old patterns sometimes serve as a road block. Luckily this song is a welcome fork in the road leading to a good path.

Totally Mild is an Australian pop quartet based out of Melbourne, started by Mitchell. Their bright, lush melodies paired with Mitchell’s candid, sweet vocals provide a lovely reflection of the doubts and hope in us all. Catch them March 17 at SXSW in Austin at The Ginger Man, with more dates to be announced. Purchase their latest album, Her, on Apple Music here.