Little Mystery

It’s rare to hear a voice that immediately commands your attention, without reminding you of anyone else, and transforms the energy in a room. Ivy Meissner, the NYC singer and songwriter known as Little Mystery, is this kind of singer. Her resonant, blues-inflected delivery derives its power from alluring contrasts—smoky and crystalline, inviting and defiant, wry and vulnerable. It is invested with the same warmth and grit as her songwriting, which combines the erudition of Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell and the attitude of Bonnie Raitt and Chrissie Hynde with a frank and vulnerable perspective all her own.

On her self-titled debut as Little Mystery (out July 26 via Ruination Record Co.), Meissner sublimates elements of ‘60s pop and R&B, ‘70s folk-rock and more into a commanding sonic vision. Against warm and varied musical backdrops, she confronts dark corners of the past and searches for connection in a fractured, anxiety-ridden world. Her singing mimics the cadence of an offhanded conversation and the timing of a joke, and lends weight to hard realizations.

Ultimately, Little Mystery pieces together a triumphant story about the freeing power of staring down painful truths. Meissner traces this journey toward healing with infectious and timeless-sounding pop-rock songs of the highest order. Through it all, she sounds grounded and definitive, encouraging us to push back against negative thinking and chase down dreams we’ve left deferred.