Swedish country artist Hicks’ transformation into miQa.el has not diminished his artistic powers one iota. His new single “Walking Medicine” continues building on the impressive songwriting reputation has garnered and advances his art a significant step forward. It is a self-conscious turning point in his art and life, but the musical execution of the song doesn’t carry the same heavy intention. He wears the country style like a loose garment and with a heady sense of exaltation.
You hear the latter quality from almost the outset. “Walking Medicine” has the feeling that it is perpetually on the edge of blasting into the stratosphere without ever doing so. The resulting anticipation it creates supplies the song with much of its tension. The supporting vocals contribute to this feeling as well even if their presence is far from omnipresent., but the dialogue they achieve with miQa.el’s voice is one of the track’s high points.
There are attributes of “classic country” woven into the song, without question, but “Walking Medicine” is more hybrid than tradition. There’s a slight yet surging pop undercurrent in the song that does nothing to diminish its value; it, if anything, sweetens the song’s overall effect. The vocal arrangement is one of the song’s great strengths without ever overshadowing its value in other areas.
The underlying acoustic guitar supporting his vocals is another of those areas. Keen-eared listeners will likely hear the song’s skeletal origins in the pairing of miQa.el’s voice and the acoustic guitar; it isn’t difficult to imagine the track’s initial genesis begins there. miQa.el impressively develops the song from there, of course, but managing to keep that lean soul in the heart of the song makes it stand out even more.
The production captures the song vividly, especially its more intense instrumental passages, and it packs plenty of punch as well. There is no sense of pomp and circumstance, however, and only the vocal production shows any significant post-production manipulation. It enhances the song, however, rather than standing out for show alone.
His voice, however, is the crowning touch. Its light-weathered sound is ideal for the material and doesn’t skirt cliché. There is a constant musicality present, as well, and he has a way of coaxing out many of the song’s lines that enhance their emotional heft. “Walking Medicine” stands at the cutting edge of country music’s modern possibilities and, despite its Swedish upbringing, many will come away from this fascinated by how a Scandinavian singer/songwriter can possess such an unique connection to a distinctly American art form.
It is honest. There is nothing faked or pretentious about it. “Walking Medicine” is a poetic invocation from miQa.el that gets to its destination on the backs of everyday language. It’s no small achievement to do so. There are many more achievements such as this awaiting him, however, and the sense of rebirth derived from changing his name does not seem like a gimmick at all. It seems and sounds like a true turning point in miQa.el’s life.
Claire Uebelacker