In the single “Devil Mirror,” the band Mirrorball crafts a mesmerizing pop song that somehow channels the best sounds of two incredibly disparate decades. One could imagine this track emanating from an Oldsmobile car stereo in 1976, just as easily as a Honda Sedan in 2026 (or whatever other shitty car kids drive these days). Think Fleetwood Mac meets Beach House, and then rinse and repeat with yet another layer of reverb. Mirrorball has cultivated a clear aesthetic, one that fits quite comfortably into the larger landscape of Southern California pop music.
The mirrors at the center of this song title and band name, however, suggest a penchant for reflection and rumination. It should come as no surprise, then, that the lyrics take up similar themes. They sing, “I used to think I was someone/ All magic on the horizon/ And after all the illusion/ It is something that I’ve had to rely on.” The artist appears to question the misguided assumptions of their youth, the “illusions” and “magic” that no longer hold after our teens and twenties. The lyrical content forms a kind of juxtaposition when heard against a shimmering backdrop of dream pop. Still, then again, this is not your typical sheen of “vibey” and overly romanticized dream pop. Instead, this single offers a more interrogative style, one that arguably takes the refractive nature of mirrors and, by analogy, self-reflection more seriously.
Mirrorball makes dream pop for adults. While I do not mean to imply that they are completely alone in this endeavor, I would note that they carve out a remarkable niche in a genre that–at times–threatens to sound a little too familiar and nostalgic. Check it out for yourself through the links below.
Written by SilenceKid
