PREMIERE: Alt-Rockers MIHI NIHIL Deliver Brooding New Single ‘MOTH’ Paired With Psych-Horror Music Video

MIHI NIHIL (mee-kee-nee-keel), noun: Latin reference for the Chinese philosophy Wuji, which states “I am endless, limitless, timeless, infinite, boundless, and expansive.”

Unifying their life outlook with their approach to songwriting, Los Angeles-based experimental alt-rock quartet MIHI NIHIL takes raw, organic writing to another level. Releasing today, July 23rd, 2024, the group has set free their new gritty and hypnotic single, “MOTH,” written in their typical fashion – one take captured from an all-participating free jam. 

Arresting listeners with its magnetic bass line that kicks off the track, “MOTH” offers an abstract tale of transformation, along with a slithering desert energy coupled with the glossy and grungy vocals of lead singer MIHI VOX. The hypnotically psychedelic electric guitar parts are so palpable and demanding, it’s hard for the listener not to sway along in a delightful daze. The group’s aim to embark all passing ears on an existential journey with each song is impossible to ignore, and the journey sure jives.

The vivid, textural, and eerie music video looks like something you might see in a Beetlejuice movie. Camera-quaking scenes of the band members individually painted and/or muddied heads poke up out of an apocalyptic-like diorama, interspersed with zoomed in snippets of moth wings and snake skin, signifying a dramatic “transformation.” It’s intense, gripping, and leaves watchers magnetized.

“‘MOTH’ was written live in one take while in our Culver City rehearsal space during the winter,” Vox says. “The music really designates the lyrics for the most part with all our songs. That word [MOTH] steered the story in the song, which is about transformation.” Regarding the magnetic bass line that opens the track, bassist Nick Steinberg states, “I remember thinking that I wanted to play something higher up on the neck, something similar to the Buzzcocks, but what ended up coming out was more angular and stark like Gang of Four.”

Mysterious yet still familiar, MIHI NIHIL and their metamorphosing tracks are a force to be reckoned with, and their rawness, accompanied by their authentic approach, makes it infeasible for one to not find a piece of themselves weaved between the wonder, with “MOTH” being their latest example.

An open-minded life philosophy, the term MIHI NIHIL’s reference to free-flowing and receptive outlooks resonated with Vox, along with Nick Steinberg (bass), Benjamin Montoya (guitar), and Adam Alt (drums) both personally and musically. The group’s coined “whiskey rehearsals” find their inspiration from everyone playing collectively, letting the music flow and the ideas spill out. 

Following MIHI NIHIL’s 2021 debut with their attention-demanding self-titled album, which was produced by Adam Lasus (PJ Harvey, Yo La Tengo), the band saw select singles grab one of Amazon Music’s #1 spots, and over half of the album saw placements in various feature films.

An impressively expansive assortment of themes for crafting lyricism on the spot, MIHI NIHIL’s songs speak on matters of discovery, mystery, death, loss, hope, the afterlife, forgiveness, and so many more universal environmental sensations and experiences. The musicians’ previous individual musical endeavors cover everything from touring with Iggy Pop and Jane’s Addiction, to participating on the stages of Coachella and Warped Tour, marking their immersion as a seasoned musical powerhouse. 

Sending the band on their own travels, “MOTH” commemorates MIHI NIHIL’s pairing with Nico Vega for their East Coast run of shows, kicking off in Philadelphia this Thursday July 25th, and wraps up in Washington D.C. on July 30th with shows in NYC and Boston in between. Live, this group always delivers an evocative performance, giving fans and newcomers a gravitating, gritty experience.