Mandi Crimmins is the chaotically relatable rockstar you’ve been searching for. This Los Angeles-based Berklee grad is known for her vulnerable raw lyrics and unhinged pop hooks that draw the listener in.
Crimmins suffers with her mental health and does not hide that, but instead uses it to connect and relate to listeners also struggling with mental illness. Her fierce authenticity has garnered her a cult following, with the mental health community rallying behind every release.
Since moving to Los Angeles from her hometown in Massachusetts, Mandi has developed her sound into a raw gritty realness that’s an addiction to hear. This gained the attention of alt-rock band The Haunt, who has served as a main collaborator of Mandi’s since.
Choosing to share her story in order to help others, the songwriter confides, “I was groomed and trafficked by someone older who I thought was my friend. It took me nearly 7 years and a lot of therapy to accept that it happened. Because accepting it happened meant accepting that I was never in control and that I was a pawn. I wanted to tell my story publicly without shame, in hopes that it might bring peace, validation, and community to someone who might be struggling with the same thing.
The powerful track is a bass-heavy, rock-fueled bop that’ll flood you with emotions. It sonically encompasses you, putting you into a trance, before the chorus really packs a punch and you’re raging again. The bridge features lyrics word-for-word from the diary Crimmins kept at the time the trauma happened. She adds, “It made the whole piece come together and really drove home the emotion fueling it.”
Her music speaks for itself with its raw, real power that meets songwriting prowess – you can’t help but be addicted. With her storytelling lyrics and vulnerability, Mandi confides, “My music heals me and is for my community first and foremost. I feel that if I have to have had these experiences, I want something good to come from them. And giving others like me a sense of community, love and a safe space to heal is paramount to all purposes.”
∘ written by Mandi Crimmins & Andre Tempfer
∘ produced by Andre Tempfer
∘ directed & edited by Shelby Lee Parks
∘ styling by Nic Wheat
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