My Idea Share Origins of Debut Album CRY MFER: Exclusive
The post My Idea Share Origins of Debut Album CRY MFER: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
Our Origins series gives artists a platform to break down everything that went into their newest release. Today, My Idea give insight into their debut album, CRY MFER.
My Idea, the band of Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos, have released CRY MFER, their first full-length album and the follow-up to their debut EP, That’s My Idea. The LP is out today (April 22) via Hardly Art.
For those who are plugged into a very particular sect of the indie scene currently burgeoning in New York City, My Idea might seem like an emotionally unstable, fucked-up version of a supergroup. Konigsberg makes up one-third of the NYC darlings Palberta and has earned name recognition in her own right thanks to her 2021 solo album, Lily We Need to Talk Now. Amos hails from the indie-dance duo Water from Your Eyes, who also had an acclaimed release last year with Structure. Both are hearts-on-their-sleeves, self-aware, committed artists.
But local scene politics and accolades don’t seem to have played a factor in the formation of My Idea. Instead, Konigsberg and Amos formed a messy, ever-evolving, and extremely close friendship. Both being artists at heart, what else could be the result of such intense confusion other than music?
Their debut album as My Idea fuses the two similar, but distinct, worlds of Konigsberg and Amos. Equally dancy and punky, as well as emotional and avant-garde, the 15 songs on the album play with a multitude of genres and tones. It’s no surprise then, that the album’s influences were similarly diverse.
“CRY MFER is chaotic in sound and content and serves as a document of what my brain was like in 2020 when I met Nate,” Konigsberg tells Consequence. “The chaos we created together and the chaos I created alone skyrocketed in that time.”
Such chaos defines CRY MFER without overwhelming it. It’s the type of chaos that makes sense within the context of Elliott Smith appreciation or a self-aware, unapologetic love of Justin Bieber. It’s pop for those without answers — for those who don’t even know what questions to ask.
Check out CRY MFER below, followed by Konigsberg and Amos’ explanation of everything that went into the album.
Elliott Smith:
Photo by JJ Gonson
We have a shared love for Elliott Smith. While his music wasn’t consciously an influence in the creation of CRY MFER, it is so deeply ingrained in both of us that we know he’s in there somewhere. The one exception to this rule is “Baby I’m The Man,” which was conceived as an unrealistically macho Elliott Smith-style song — something that reminded us of him even though he never would have sung it himself. Though we may not listen to him the way we did when we were younger, his music is very much a presence in both of our lives. — Nate Amos
Chaos:
Photo by Jesus Hilario H. via Unsplash
CRY MFER is chaotic in sound and content and serves as a document of what my brain was like in 2020 when I met Nate. The chaos we created together and the chaos I created alone skyrocketed in that time. Now, my life is much more simple and thoughtful. I am grateful for the music but very happy to be out of the chaos. — Lily Konigsberg
Ariana Grande:
Who knows how much it shows in CRY MFER, but her music was a constant presence in our lives during the creation of the album. “Positions” came out right in the middle of when we were working on it, and is the main pop music that I (Nate) can remember listening to at the time. — N.A.
Ween:
Photo by Heather Kaplan
The best way to frame heavier music is in the context of lighter music, and no one has ever understood that as well as Ween. While CRY MFER is not really Ween-influenced music, (maybe with the exception of the single “Breathe You” and the album track “Pretty You”) there is an intentional balance of playfulness and non-playfulness that was certainly enabled and pushed along by this particular tendency of Ween. — N.A.
Inner Thoughts:
Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash
I revealed a lot of my inner thoughts and embarrassing feelings through the lyrics of this album and it taught me that total honesty creates the best music. That total honesty then becomes a mix of fiction and nonfiction as the story continues. — L.K.
CRY MFER Artwork:
My Idea Share Origins of Debut Album CRY MFER: Exclusive
Jonah Krueger
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