Mia Riddle - The Tunnels, Aberdeen

Mia Riddle - 5, originally uploaded by Mr Kael.

Last night (9th Aug 2007), I was fortunate enough to see Mia Riddle at The Tunnels. This was her second gig in Aberdeen and it was a great show. Whilst there was some muttering in the crowd when they began their first song, the bar soon descended into silence as she opened with Birds from the LP "Tigers". The show mixed in some old tracks including my favourite "Too Late" along with newer tracks which will be appearing on their next album.
Mia seemed genuinely surprised by the reaction of the crowd at the end of the set, whilst not a standing ovation it was an awful lot of noise for such a small audience.
I hope radio stations and audiences alike create a big enough "buzz" for Mia and her band as their music is far superior to much of the stuff that is out there taking up the airwaves.

Mia's website can be found at www.miariddle.com


Mia's Biography/Press release - From her website
It was a strange one, that first tour. A friend's leaky hatchback carried Mia on a crisscrossing journey making stops in some of the more little-traveled destinations that the UK has to offer. "I remember the very first shows of the first tour, I was playing with hardcore and metal bands, and I was like 'there's no way I'm getting up there, I'm going to be knifed,'" she told punknews.co.uk. Luckily, no violence befell her, and instead she found herself playing to living rooms and pubs packed with admirers.

Three UK tours, three albums, and one full band later, Mia Riddle and Her Band are continuing to gain momentum. Their 2006 full-length album Tigers has garnered universally glowing reviews: "If it is a brief trip to bliss you're looking for, Tigers is likely as good as it gets." said The Owl Mag. The band shares the spotlight in a refreshingly generous way; Dan's admirable guitar hooks and David's intuition as a drummer never overshadow and always enhance the material. The songs haunt and surprise, and intelligent arrangements help engender a timeless, original sound.

Word of mouth grabbed the attention of acclaimed Brooklyn producer Rod Sherwood (Au Revoir Simone, Pela, Jen Chapin), who's now recording the band's sophomore effort. Hatchet Lake will be an album evoking the porches and stoops of the band's good mother, Brooklyn. Expect stomp-on-the-floor grooves and a new, lusher sound which remains fiercely organic. With the welcome addition of multi-instrumentalist Laurel, the band is pulling off more complex arrangements, more bittersweet harmonies, and evolving beyond the simplicity and delicacy of Tigers.

Mia Riddle and Her Band will be road-testing the new material on their summer tour of France and the UK. Look for the four-song EP advance version of Hatchet Lake at shows.