Red and white twinkle lights adorned the upstairs concert hall of the Mercury Cafe at 2199 California St., a space entirely befitting of its Saturday night entertainment. Red roses and gentle candlelight set the mood for DU student Michelle Mandico’s album release party, while over 100 of the artist’s friends and family waited expectantly.
The album, entitled “Dimensions of my Heart” is a tender and lilting assortment of nostalgic love songs, poignant indie-pop ballads and humorous ditties. The songs were all composed by Mandico, a songwriter, ceramicist and aspiring teacher whose kind demeanor and abundant curls are her trademark.
A fourth year from Colorado Springs studying at the Morgridge School of Education, Mandico was accompanied by a host of current or former music majors from the Lamont School of Music as well as her two sisters, Maria and Christina. The band consisted of Evan Shelton on cello, Eunha So on piano, Brandon Meagher on drums, Wilson Luallen on bass and Thomas Jennings on the guitar, with a guest performance by guitarist Derrick Bozich.
According to Mandico, she decided to do the project in Spring 2013 and recorded the album in June and throughout the fall with a different group of DU musicians than the ones who performed live at the release party. She wanted to keep the project within DU, and succeeded in doing so by playing solely with DU musicians. The album itself was recorded at the Lamont School of Music by Mike Schultz, an audio and production major, before it was sent to Nashville to be mixed.
“It was definitely a learning process,” said Mandico. “As I was going I was learning about what I should do at each step.”
Mandico writes lyrics and music simultaneously on her piano, recording each new composition in a voice memo as a reference for later. In addition to voice and piano, Mandico has played flute for 12 years and has played percussion in the past. She is currently learning how to play the guitar.
“I write songs really fast so I wrote most of the songs just a couple of the weeks before we started recording. I write at least a song a day,” said Mandico.
A charismatic musician, Mandico performed with palpable authenticity and vulnerability. Despite an endearing air of giddiness, her skill was made apparent by an overall effortlessness, as she easily hit the wide-ranging notes of her compositions.
Her influences, including Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Missy Higgins and Sarah Bareilles are easily detectable in her compositions. From the floating “Surrogate” to the whispering and tender “Overflowing”; from the more minimal “In this Room” featuring Brandon Meagher on vocals to the chocolaty bowed bass of “Near the End,” Mandico gave a sweet and expressive show.
The first half of the performance showcased each of the tunes on Mandico’s album, with the second half transitioning into a slower acoustic set intermingled with covers, each of which were flavored by cello and bass.
Lyrics like “Flames mix like his magic tricks/ Left her wearing only his heart/ She sparks as the sky goes dark/ Wearing nothing but his heart” from Mandico’s single, “Undress,” captured the lingering pain of lost or unrequited love.
“Every song is either about somebody I know or somebody that I knew,” said Mandico. “I write love songs, and most of them are about a past relationship. Sometimes a song will grow out of a single moment. The goal is to pare down what I feel and say it in a way that anybody can understand. I can write most authentically from my perspective and my experiences.”
Brandon Meagher of former DU band Vetta Star performed as the opening act for Mandico, showing his chops as a solo singer and guitarist before taking his place as the drummer in Mandico’s band.
DU “grungetown” or space-punk favorite Grease Pony also performed as the closing act for Mandico, giving Mandico and friends an opportunity to dance and let loose after a night of mellow tunage.
But despite audience support for the other two acts, Mandico remained the focal point.
“I felt alert, but I wasn’t worried about messing up because I knew it was going to happen the way it happened,” said Mandico. “Every show gets better.”
A free download of “Undress,” the single from “Dimensions of my Heart,” is available online. Info can be found on Facebook.
