In-Sides - Mud (Acumen Productions)

The COVID years, the isolation of the lockdowns, the social unrest that occasionally spilled into violence, and all the other reflections and responses sent out ripples across the world, both physical and sometimes less tangible, that are still being felt today. But if there is one area where those lingering echoes can be seen as a silver lining, it is in all the creatives who poured their feelings into art to express their experiences. Salvo, the latest EP from In-Sides is just such a piece, and “Mud” is the latest single.

And if the subject matter of this single and the EP that spawned it deals with pretty recent events, musically, there are several older influences at work too. There is an overall languid, lucid-dream-like vibe conjured here as drifting dream-pop vibes wash up on more robust shoegaze shores, and not just shoegaze, a college rock sensibility and structure and even, in the heavier moments, the influence of grunge can be felt.

But I don’t want to give the impression that “Mud” is mere pastiche and the plundering of past sonic glories, far from it; there is originality and passion and forward-thinking aplenty here, it is just that, for us who have been around the block a few times, you can see the musical wheel turn and past sounds take root in modern endeavors in such music. But isn’t that always the way that music is made? Is there anything new under the sun? But such is the deftness and delicacy with which songwriter Stephen Fong blends older influences into his new sonic realm that the result is the best of both worlds: a song that sounds wonderfully fresh and also slightly familiar. Perfect!

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