"Mixed Messages" is a song by Australian musical comedian

Tom Cardy Tom Cardy (born 12 June 1994) is an Australian comedian, musician, songwriter, and actor. He became known in Australia for his "Song Sequels" segments on the radio station Triple J in 2020, and achieved more international recognition when he be ...

, released on 30 July 2021 as his debut single and the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from his debut EP ''

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

''. The song was written, recorded, and produced solely by Cardy. "Mixed Messages" ranked at No. 17 on

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's Hottest 100 of 2021, becoming Cardy's debut appearance on the countdown.

Background and release

"Mixed Messages" was debuted on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, and released officially on 30 July 2021.

Recording

"Mixed Messages" was recorded in July 2021 in Cardy's

home studio Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...

during the creation of his debut EP ''

''.

Composition

"Mixed Messages" is a

comedy song Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comical, comedic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Medieval Period, Classical and Ro ...

rooted in

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

which discusses themes including " non-sequiturs nd

negging Negging ("to neg", meaning "negative feedback") is an act of emotional manipulation whereby a person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or otherwise flirtatious remark to another person to undermine their confidence and attempt to engender i ...

" and makes references to "kicking puppies and punching parents". Triple J's Al Newstead summarised the song as discussing "the relatable feeling of awkward attempts to text your crush hat spiralsinto a silly ode to brutalising dad

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

." It is written in the key of E♭ major with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 111

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

Critical reception

's Al Newstead cited "Mixed Messages" as "the perfect example" of Cardy's "knack for heightening insightful social observations with gleeful

absurdism Absurdism is the philosophical theory that the universe is irrationality, irrational and meaningless. It states that trying to find meaning leads people into conflict with a seemingly meaningless world. This conflict can be between Rationality ...

". Joe Briscoe of ''David Reviews'' was favourable towards "Mixed Messages" and its accompanying music video, writing that "it's hard not to laugh at what ardyand Antali have created". He commended the song for bringing comedy music " ntothe spotlight with new vigour".

Music video

The animated

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Mixed Messages", directed and animated by Gabriella Antali, was released alongside the single on 30 July 2021. Joe Briscoe of ''David Reviews'' praised Antali's animation, saying it " sesan old-school

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

style to capture facial expressions and movement in all their characterful, frustrating glory". He continued by saying the video elevated "the song's quirky humour with well-observed details (an unflattering reflection in a phone screen is particularly amusing), building to the surreal twist which is thankfully rendered via euphemistic eggplant".

Personnel

As shown in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Artificial Intelligence'', the song was created and performed solely by Cardy.

Chart performance

"Mixed Messages" ranked at No. 17 on

's public voted Hottest 100 of 2021, becoming Cardy's debut Hottest 100 appearance.

References

External links

*
lyrics on genius.com
{{Authority control 2021 debut singles 2021 songs Tom Cardy songs Animated music videos Songs written by Tom Cardy