In a world where we seem to value polish and pose over poise and performance, where the artist has become an iconic figure rather than great songs being lauded, where marketing is the be-all-and-end-all, it is nice to hear a song like “The In-Betweens” breaking through into the public conciousness.
Taken from Colin Woltmann’s new album, A Case of the Times it is everything that goes against current fad and fashion, and that is what makes it so good, revolutionary even. Seemingly taking a DIY/bedroom pop approach to the folk/acoustica/singer-songwriter format, or at least replicating its sparse and honest qualities, “The In-Betweens” feels like the past catching up with us and reminding us that perhaps this love of musical excess has gone too far and we should return to what is important.
What is important is a song that only does enough to make its point: one voice, one guitar, and little else. But the voice is gorgeously hazy, the guitar lines deft and dexterous, and the overall effect is one of intimacy, like a calm late-night conversation with a close friend.
Reminiscent of the masterful and tragically short-lived Nick Drake and perhaps even the equally missed Elliot Smith the song feels too fragile, too graceful for the real world and instead seems to exist in an otherworldly bubble floating high above the slings and arrows of this mortal coil.
If ever proof were needed, that music doesn’t have to be about volume and velocity, studio gimmicks or guest rappers, dance routines and shock tactics; this is it. Sometimes, it is about honest intent, integrity, and that age-old adage that less is more. And here, less is undoubtedly more. Much more.
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