''Rising'' (stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter

Mxmtoon Maia (born July 9, 2000), known professionally as mxmtoon, is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics, and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, ' ...

, released on May 20, 2022 through

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...

. ''Rising'' was promoted by the singles "Mona Lisa", "Sad Disco", "Victim of Nostalgia", and "Coming of Age".

Background and promotion

Since the release of her debut studio album ''

The Masquerade Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

'' in 2019, Mxmtoon released the twin EPs ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'' and ''

Dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enou ...

'' in 2020, and in 2021 contributed songs to the game '' Life Is Strange: True Colors''. In November 2021, Mxmtoon told ''

Dork Dork is a pejorative term for a person (compare with " dweeb" and "fool"). Dork may also refer to: People * Dork Sahagian, Armenian-American climate scientist Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dork'' (EP), an album by AFI * ''Dork'' (magaz ...

'' that she was working on her second studio album, and aiming to release it in 2022. On January 25, 2022 she posted a snipped of the song "Mona Lisa" on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, along with making the song available for pre-save. "Mona Lisa" was released as the album's lead single on February 8, 2022, alongside the announcement of a 2022 North American tour. Mxmtoon said of the song, "As someone who usually writes songs about other people, one of my ongoing questions is, 'Will anyone ever write songs about me?' Mona Lisa is about wanting to be the subject of the art for once instead of being the creator. I think we all daydream at some point in our lives of diving into our favorite stories and finding ourselves in the pages." The music video for the song dropped on March 3, 2022, along with the hint that a full album might come in Spring 2022. Mxmtoon released the second single "Sad Disco" on March 24, 2022 and announced that the album's title and release date. Mxmtoon intended the song to be a sort of response to her 2018 breakout single "Prom Dress", saying "in a way, it feels like an answer to the girl who wrote 'prom dress' in the first place. serving as a reminder that she isn't stuck on the floor with tears streaming down her face forever, but that she'll grow up, and the loneliness she sometimes feels won't define her. she can still choose to dance and have her own 'sad disco. The third single, "Victim of Nostalgia" was released on April 27, 2022. According to the artist, the song is "about missing the blind optimism and warmth that's so much easier to experience when you're younger. Wanting to escape back into a time when your worries weren't so pervasive." The fourth and final pre-release single "Coming of Age" was released on May 13, 2022. Mxmtoon said the song is about "the growth I've experienced between writing, producing, and personally understanding the individual I know myself to be currently. It's a strange experience having thousands of people watch you grow up and enter your twenties, and it felt necessary to make a song that simultaneously celebrates the uncertainty of self discovery but can find confidence in growth."

Tour

On February 9, 2022, Mxmtoon announced a headlining tour in support of the album, titled "Rising (The World Tour)" (stylized in

), with legs in North America, the United Kingdom, and Oceania. The tour started on May 2, 2022, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada, and will conclude on October 30, 2022, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland.

Chloe Moriondo Chloe Moriondo (stylized in all lowercase as chloe moriondo) (born September 29, 2002) is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her style blends elements of indie pop and bedroom pop, with the occasional hyperpop. Her YouTube channel, which ...

will support the North American leg of the tour.

Shows

Critical reception

Alisdair Grice of ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' praised Mxmtoon's relatability as a songwriter, saying "Maia is to

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

what

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She gained recognition in the late 2010s with her lead roles on the Disney television programs ''Bizaardvark'' and '' High School Musical: The Music ...

is to

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

a fresh and welcome face that disregards gatekeeping in favour of utilising nostalgia to captivate new audiences, bridging a gap that ignores the omnipotent zeitgeist for confessional, shimmering accessibility". Rhian Daly, writing for ''The Forty-Five'', called it "a collection that gently encourages you to find light and joy again in the simplest, smallest ways." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s Kate Hutchinson praised the album's sharp songwriting which she felt would appeal to fans of

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

Track listing

Notes * All track titles are stylized in

References

{{Mxmtoon 2022 albums Mxmtoon albums AWAL albums Self-released albums Disco albums by American artists Electropop albums