At first glance, Maureen McDonald, performance name MoZella, appears to be your run-of-the-mill, blue-eyed, blonde-haired American beauty, but her crooning, soulful vocals, accompanied by her skilled fingers dancing over the strings of the guitar immediately prove that there is nothing typical or average about this young performer.
MoZella grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and it’s clear that the city responsible for birthing the Motown music genre has left it’s mark on the singer. MoZella’s voice is raspy in the quality of Joss Stone, but her lyrics are playful and light-hearted in the spirit of Colbie Caillat. One thing that sets MoZella apart from her peers is the consistency and cohesiveness amongst her songs and her ability to tell a story within her album. The album, Belle Isle begins with mirthful love songs, such as the track “Stay” that teases, “Why don’t you stay and watch my heart break?” and “Luv Sik,” which suggests sarcasm with its incorrect spelling while the upbeat tinkering of the piano and blaring horns give the impression that she is laughing behind her lyrics.
However, the album seems to mature as it progresses and MoZella’s songs become imperceptibly more empowering. Where she was once begging, “Why don’t you stay…” she replaces with the insistence that, “Let’s stop calling it love…” The album, although most of it’s songs seem directed towards a love interest or former flame, is not saturated with grief or regret, but instead seems to be almost poking fun at love and is sprinkled throughout with sarcasm: a fresh perspective amongst a class of female musicians who seem to have no problem telling their audience how much they need a man in order to achieve happiness. On the contrary, MoZella’s album ends with a tone of closure, in her song “Thank You” she enthuses, “Thank you for the good times…” but it appears clear that the fair beauty has long since moved on. Hover to watch Mozella – Hurry Up & Choose.
On ‘Twilight Girls,’ the final song on ‘Belle Isle’, MoZella’s voice turns melancholy with a tinge of hopefulness as she encourages her peers, “Twilight girls, don’t give your hearts away/Remember theres a part of you/That no amount of pain can ever break.”
Overall, MoZella’s album is upbeat and light with surprisingly substantial lyrics that will ponder your mind long after her songs have finished playing.
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Like MoZella? Check out: Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado
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