Okay, I’m going to hold my hand up and say before I reviewed this song, I hadn’t come across Trixie Mattel, and hearing Malibu for the first time took me a little by surprise.

It wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I had no idea that Trixie Mattel, whose real name is Brian Michael Firkus, was the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Season 3. Now I know, I can understand the concept more, and further enquiry actually shows that Trixie Mattel is a pretty serious musician, with a big tour on the horizon, which will come to the UK in May 2020 after dates in the US and Europe. 

Malibu is quite a rocky song, with pop production and it has a lot going on that will intrigue fans and new listeners. The lyrics paint a picture of Malibu, but going there with someone who you desperately want to spend more time with, and you’re planning what fun you’ll have in Malibu. The lyric lines here are commercial in their concept, they will appeal to both men and women and they flow with a very catchy melody. It stays in your head, and the production is seamless, combining predominantly guitars with synths, drums and bass. The overall feel is happy, with upbeat phrases and a really punchy sound. Trixie Mattel has got a great pop voice and should be taken seriously as an artist. There is musical sense to this piece and a delivery that stems heavily from experience in performance with a pitch that never falters. 

Whatever your thoughts are about Trixie Mattel, Malibu deserves a listen, it seems to do exactly what you want a pop song to do and gives you an earworm to take with you for the day. For me, I enjoyed the song, but I’m now desperate to see this and other Trixie Mattel songs performed live and see how the live shows convey the message of the songs and what extra things we might expect to see when Malibu is performed. 

 Pop rock 

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.