REVIEW: MIDI Bunny's self-titled EP via Plantasia

August 09, 2023

Composer Cecily Renns and producer Biddy Fox have come together to form MIDI Bunny. To them this is a project that represents a lot about queer community and solidarity and that’s an easy sell for me. I didn’t know what to expect going into this EP, but it was a pleasant surprise and blend of sounds and influences. I would give you more of the story, but Cecily and Biddy have put it so eloquently on social media and I would much rather talk to you about the music itself.

The record opens with “moonlight in the mirror,” a twinkly and ethereal piece of acoustic rock that depends on tugging on your heart strings. There’s a line here about life being one trauma after another and that being what we’re defined by and, while bleak, really puts in view a reality that I think we all feel every single day. I also really love this chilled out solo session toward the end, turning that expectation of an opening track on its head and hitting you with something to remember without it exploding in sound. The following “ILY, Ramona,” which was the lead single for the record is that sonic explosion with a huge hook, other fairly big sing-alongs as well as some serious riffing that really makes the switch-up between the two something to behold. From there we even get a chiptune section and throughout the record the pair continue to throw different genres at you all while blending it perfectly within the structure of the EP. The garage punk adjacent “ANXTY” has to be my favorite example of this.

I also very much enjoy the narrative here of queer, broken love and the heartache and constant ins and outs all of those things exist in. It also has a certain feeling of star-crossed lovers that completely missed their shot, sometimes at a show, sometimes by some other sort of circumstance, but always quick and intense only to be gone. All of this comes to an end with the untitled track that comes second to last on the record. Here we’re going through a soul crushing list of people we’ve loved those who we want to hold onto hope and end it all with a monologue questioning if life is worth living whatsoever. I think it’s a universal moment, especially for trans folks, to have that very conversation with themselves. That instance where you decide that actually in spite of the whole world being against you, life is worth living. At least, I know I’ve had that. For me tracks like these are ones that make me want to revisit records; I don’t think this would hit quite as well if you just played it as a single.

In spite of all my strong feelings I sort of feel like the record fails to stick the landing with “Pop Punk Girlfriend.” I feel like this is some sort of bit I don’t quite understand, and the bonus tracks don’t offer much closure either. “Androgyny” is a pretty neat inclusion that makes good on that chiptune influence early on. “Communication,” the original MIDI Bunny single, appears here as well and while I do like the sonics it's going for I don’t think it quite hits the way it could. Still, I think this is a really good EP and as a fan of music who is trans and wants to see trans artists stand out, I think this is a story worth hearing and a duo worth watching.

Our Rating - 7/10

Favorite Tracks: