MICO

Provides Gen-Z Relatability and Closure With ‘second thoughts EP’

By Ken Tse

A project nearly two years in the making, MICO’s ‘second thoughts EP’ marks the latest chapter in the artist’s coming of age story. From navigating teenage love and heartbreak to the uncertainties of being an independent musician, each track offers a distinct relatability that bodes well with his predominately Gen-Z audience. In our recent conversation, MICO shared his goal of reaching the full potential of the punk-pop sound. And as ambitious as this may seem, the artist has done so here with flying colors — a swinging dose of 2000s nostalgia along with a ton of personal flair.

I spoke with MICO amidst his summer-long stay in Los Angeles, a ways away from his home just outside of Toronto, Canada. The 19-year-old expressed much enthusiasm and relief over his latest EP, noting the significance of the moment. “I’ve been releasing (‘second thoughts’) single by single since way back in March of 2021 because I wanted to make sure that every single track got its own attention and appreciation that it really deserved,” he explained. “So I’m glad that it’s finally out there.”

‘second thoughts’ is MICO’s first project since the release of ‘21st-century heartbreak’ in 2020, and a comparison between the two provides a rich perspective into the artist’s personal growth. “I was only 16 when I wrote a lot of that project and didn’t have a whole lot of personal experience to base everything off of,” he said. “Half of ‘21st-century heartbreak’ isn’t about me but the stories that my friends would tell me – it also has a childish feel in terms of writing and composition whereas now I feel that I’ve settled down on a sound that still exudes a lot of youthful energy, but is more polished and refined, cohesive and complete.”

MICO - ‘second thoughts’ EP Cover Artwork / Click to Stream!

The artist explained how the inspiration for ‘second thoughts’ can best be found within the title itself. “When I was writing a lot of the project, I noticed that the main theme that ran throughout the songs was a lot of doubt,” he said. “…A lot of second-guessing the outcomes of everything and whether it would be alright in the end.”

This same uncertainty would lead MICO to consider going back to school following a gap year taken in 2020. “I did have that talk with my parents,” he revealed. “Funny enough, that conversation happened the night before the ‘down!’ TikTok blew up!”

In a video uploaded on August 9th, 2021, MICO dedicates his now-signature song to all of the “20-somethings and late teenagers because regardless of if you went to college, or you took a gap year, or you went straight into the work field, all of us have the exact same question on our minds, and that is: what the f*** happens next?” For the artist, this answer would come in overwhelming fashion – a TikTok with over 1.8 million views and nearly 450k likes. “down!” is currently MICO’s most-popular song to date.

He continues to be a For You page fixture, too, finding success in covers, open verse challenges, and plenty of song teasers. But where does one go from there? He believes that such virality must be met with a purpose. “The way that I see is that, if you want to keep on doing this forever and build a fanbase that will be there for you through thick and thin…you can’t be filtering stuff out to show the best parts of you,” he said. “You have to put your whole self out there.” 460k social media followers later, his words serve as a proven roadmap for those who look to follow his lead.

The recent resurgence of 2000s culture may make MICO’s rise all the more fitting, but such influences have always been a driving force within his musical style. “A lot of my favorite music not only comes from the pop-punk scene of the late 2000s but also the early 2010s,” he explained. “The scene that was still going – Vices and Virtues, Panic at the Disco, Neck Deep, 5 Seconds of Summer – came in with really fresh takes on pop-rock but never really got a chance in mainstream media because everyone was so focused on other things at the time. Now that the genre is making a resurgence, I feel like it’s the perfect time to introduce people to the side that not a lot of people saw.”

The artist’s ability to create this sound is profound, namely in tracks like “make me leave” and “had2do (featuring marc indigo).” “Those were the first songs that I had made for the project,” he continued. “In the process, visiting that sound reminded me of how much I liked it, and how reminiscent the sound actually is of the 2010s.”

As he celebrates the success of ‘second thoughts’ – which now has over 9 million streams on Spotify – MICO teased his plans to dip into yet another corner of the nostalgia wave. “For the singles lined up in the Fall, you’ll definitely hear a lot more of the rock-leaning sound,” he said. “I wanted to tune into the less polished more edgy styles of that generation…that’s something that I’m really looking forward to.”

For now, listeners get to enjoy his current masterclass of old meets new. , MICO is consistently stellar across his catalog, a testament to his hard work and dedication to his craft. “I graduated high school during COVID so I had zero closure to that chapter whatsoever, and putting (second thoughts) out there…has allowed me to mentally move forward,” he concluded. “If somebody else feels a similar way, the project did what it did.”

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