Mudi Sama "Will I Make It Out Alive?" (2025)

Following up on a passonate live performance at Reading Festival, Mudi's tuneful appeal translates well to record. Although labelled as an album, its nineteen minute runtime and rough around the edges production feels much like a demo. With seven two to three minute tracks, we breeze through colorful songs built on conventional pop song structures, always illuminating its main hook between bright uplifting melodies.

 

Although his lyrics have a darker undercurrent of emotional struggle, the whole expression is felt as a sunny resolution to such turmoil. Each song works out its premise through this gorgeous assemble of warm empowering baselines, dreamy shoegazing leads and thick distortion guitar fuzz. Held together with tight percussive grooves akin to a drum machine, the experience takes on a soft wall of sound quality.

Mudi's voice acts as the glue, pulling this winning chemistry together around his lyrics. Each song is well written with Jealous Type, Let Go and End Of The World standing out to me. The latter highlights some of that rough production with its gritty baselines and lack of balance compared to other tracks. Maybe its part of the concept to sound a touch more Punk on this one, after all, its a downtrodden reprieval anthem.

 

Throughout it all tho, I got the impression that in the hands of a more experienced producer, the compositional ideas could be elevated to another level. There is a undercurrent of punchy pop appeal in his songs that would love a touch of shiny gloss. Either way, this record is a cracking start. Mudi is a bright talent with tones of potential. One to keep an eye on for sure!

Rating: 6/10