New Music Review - ‘The Time of Our Lives’ by Mild Orange

This brilliantly shot photo was taken in Tokyo, Japan by Mehrt and features snippets of the bands other ventures such as Barry’s Bread, Rosham Beau, the last names of the guys and some song names. Can you spot them all?

Hello, good evening and welcome back to another Mild Orange review. Hey, it wasn’t entirely my decision to write this one - I asked and everyone on Instagram voted that they wanted this review, so I gladly will oblige to the readers of Welcome to the Gig! (Plus, we know how much I love Mild Orange and all they stand for, so realistically, I would have probably written this whichever way the votes went… So, I am absolutely stoked to bring you this, hope you enjoy the read.)

-

Warning: slight gushing and feelings ahead in this review.

Following hot on the tail of their previous release, This Kinda Day, Mild Orange have hit the airwaves once again with their newest internationally renowned single, The Time of Our Lives which, for a track that was released less than 24 hours ago, it is already gaining traction from more than their home country of Aotearoa - watching the comments in the live chat from all different countries prior to the video premiere was pretty special and I know that the feedback that was coming through would have meant a lot to them, too. It’s wonderful to see how much Mild Orange are appreciated and welcomed all over with the energy that they bring to the music they put out, which always sends out such positive and enticing vibes.

The Time of Our Lives opens the gateway to different stories of what the band have enjoyed and learned whilst having been previously in Japan, which obviously holds a very epic part of Mild Orange’s hearts.

The beginning of the song comes in with a little intentional glitch-like, drum sound and that few seconds really makes you curious to hear more of The Time of Our Lives - setting the tone of a colourful story in which the accompanying video pairs perfectly with it, just like when you have a cup of Mild Orange tea with a Mild Orange song - absolute pure happiness at the end of the day.

While the song may require you to listen to it more than once to love it (upon writing this section of the review, I’m up to about listen number nine of The Time of Our Lives and I kid you not, you will fall head over heels with it each time you hear it), this track is not just one to glaze over and move on from. No. You need to take every moment of it in, thoroughly enjoy it, like the breeze on a hot summers day. Same with the video, too (check that out below!)

Mild Orange are not ones who put out standard, subpar songs or anything that sounds exactly like what everyone else is pushing out because they are certain of what they want and where they are taking their projects, which sometimes can lack from different musicians (my personal opinion).

They make sure to put a brilliant spin on everything and take you on unexpected paths, making it feel like you are traveling through another space in time. For me, The Time of Our Lives makes me feel warm, comforted, thankful and pleased to have discovered their insane talents. These emotions are the intentions that Mehrt, Barry, Jah and Jeck incorporate into everything they throw their passions at and as per normal, this flows through like rapid fire, especially in this new drop where fantastic is an understatement.

Now, lets move on to the video, shall we? It’s very Mild Orange-esque from the start. It begins in a dark room where we get a glimpse of photos that have been taken around Tokyo and slowly but surely, we see Kento Yoshioka skating through freeze frames of people, who if they were moving, would be going about their daily lives. Kento wows with his incredible skateboarding tricks which look incredibly fun - he is clearly a professional at his art of choice and makes a groovy addition to this excitement-filled mini movie, if you will. The video filters between blood orange tones (kind of giving it a vibe like the Freak In Me video), normal colouration and then black and white. The video was a collective effort between a lot of wonderful people including Tomoyuki Kujirai, Mehrt, Nion and Keita Motegi, just to name a few. (All of the credits are listed in the official YouTube video description).

All in all, the execution of everything for The Time of Our Lives gels well together and if you don’t overly enjoy the track the first time, listen to this in a quiet room, turn off every other distraction and hone into the storybook of wonder that they are telling you. If it helps, pretend you’re in Tokyo yourself and cruising through the streets, this will guarantee that you’ll find that bliss state you are searching for.

For this new wave of epic skate, busy-city life drop, I would happily give this one a 9.8/10. Keep crushing your projects, Mehrt, Jah, Jeck and Barry - we appreciate you and thank you for all the goods you are providing us fans!

—

Mild Orange have just released their latest Europe, USA and Canada tour dates for the Looking for Space tour, which you can check out at their official website here. Want more Mild Orange to read on Welcome to the Gig? Check out the interview I did with Mehrt during lockdown here.

—

I currently have capacity to write reviews, do interviews and features for NZ musicians on the blog at the moment, please feel free to get in touch via Instagram, Facebook or via email. You will find these links at the top of the blog.