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“Something Solar”, by Inside The Far. You have such an unusual sound. I thought immediately of Native American chants; Your haunting quality pervades this song,
This song is quite unique and could be used in specific spots for cable as well as film. The focus is on drama, possibly native in theme, as well as any scene with it’s attention in an inner battle; maybe someone approaching a battle of various kinds. Certainly a piece with honor and spirit as it’s primary theme.
Your beautiful voice, collaborating with the instrumentals revealed such a moving ballad. It feels like you’re singing mythology.
The fierce intentionality expressed through this, gives it sense of honor, of respect to the spirits that be.
You’ve broken from any traditional format, allowing the nature of this song to carry itself. I think it worked perfectly.
Your song is distinct, all around. Full of meaning and depth.
I love the energy of becoming something solar…of the light, of the fire, galactic…this is where I went with it. Beautiful.
Recording
This is a good, clear recording.
- Jason Levitt
I’ll take the Trinkler family’s word for it that Inside the Far is “cinematic rock,” but listeners can be quite certain about the theme of their debut EP, Spin. Variations of the term “spin” appear in four of the five tracks with lyrics. Whether Inside the Far lyrically links opposing definitions of deft sociopolitical control and a dizzying lack of control or pays unlikely homage to my favorite childhood toy, the Sit ‘n Spin, listeners will find the music of Spin in a constant degree of fluctuation between order and turmoil.
Foregoing anything too awfully fancy for the title track, the 43-second intro sounds like…well…spinning. Think about a very large coin rolling around one of those fun donation “wormholes” at K-Mart, with heavy distortion.
So your coin or whatever you want to believe is spinning winds its way into the drummy (tribal, or otherwise very old and warlike) intro to the first track with vocals, “Anger Spins the Empire.” It’s not long before listeners will hear contrast as that intro rhythm is slapped around by what listeners may call industrial rock riffs, and what Inside the Far and I will call “cinematic rock.” That intro rhythm never completely disappears, resurfacing fully at the end with a glitchy CD-player effect, completing the whole past/future contrast.
What is particularly compelling about Spin is that the glitch effect itself leads into “Anomilia” not to disappear, and not to be annoyingly present throughout the whole song, but to manipulate its way into the frenetic rhythm and melody of the song. In a sense, the destruction of the previous track becomes the structure of the next track. Listeners might go with the phoenix metaphor; I choose to use vintage toys metaphor and say it reminds me of playing with Legos as a kid…
Anyway, transition is one of my favorite aspects of albums and I wish more artists would embellish it on their albums. Spin goes so far as to use negative space before the final two tracks as introduction pieces to the songs. I don’t suppose it’s entirely necessary, just put it at the beginning of the track, but at the very least it gives a nostalgic effect. Do you remember the first time you saw the time counting backwards with that little “-“ in front of it? Thought you were Donnie Darko didn’t you? You chuckled nervously when a jet engine didn’t come crashing through your ceiling when it turned over to “00:00.”
“The Future” wraps it up as probably the most casual-listener-friendly track. The only real gripe I have is the lack of transition at the end of the EP. I always look for some small cue to take me back to the beginning, but the end is mysteriously abrupt, and relative to the rest of Spin, it’s distinctly abrupt. It’s not disruptive and unpleasant, but it is most definitely final.
…See what I did there?
level of consciousness: 7.7 out of 10…Spin as a concept is well spun, and it is musically solid as a debut.
recommended tracks: “Anger Spins the Empire,” “Anomilia,” “The Future”
- Steam of Consciousness
Discography
Album - Spin
Featured on Oasis CD sampler
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Bio
Inside the Far began in 2000 when Mike and Christy split from their old band Fray Halo. They spent the next couple of years working on new material, jamming with other musicians and building a mini studio to lay initial tracks. They finished assembling Celestial Studio in 2003 Mike began laying the tracks for Spin. Mike’s addictive ambition drove him to write every bit of music you hear on the album. After countless sleepless nights of recording the main tracks; ITF headed to the studio for live drum and vocal tracking.
Grammy Award Winning Engineer, Aaron Connor recorded Christy's main & backing vocals at Chapman Recording and recorded drums performed by local legend, Andrew Ward at Berry Music Group. Additional vocal tracks were added at Berry Music by Christy as well. Aaron and ITF then mixed Spin on the SSL 4000 board at Berry.
Grammy Award Winning Engineer, Matt Sandoski mastered Spin at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO. Matt was able to add a dimension to the layers within the music by utilizing HDCD. Until you have listened to Spin at full volume you have not truly experienced the journey it offers.
Spin is about our world being in a dark, angry, hateful state with many indications that our societies are building a future with low self-esteem at the forefront. Yet it seems that very few want to address or even recognize this epidemic. Spin begins in the darkness with a plea for freedom from such things so that people who have dreams may "seize the sky" since historically our world was been built on such ideas as the sky being the limit. As the songs progress, we face low self-esteem in Anomalia with lyrics such as "per lei devo ringraziare dio" which is Italian meaning "for you I must thank God". The use of languages other than English is paramount for expressing a global interest. Spin takes the listener from the anger to cutting away the darkness in your life that haunts you and focusing on life becoming something a little more transparent, true, or even Something Solar, in other words something brighter and better. We close out Spin with The Future. A song that simply says if we as a people or you as an individual are going to have a future; we/you must show the world love. As the lyrics evolve from hatred to love, the mood of the music transcends leaving you optimistically energized in a world where pessimism and cynicism seems to flourish and is indeed “a true and strong fight”.
Currently, Inside the Far is working on their next full length album as well as promoting Spin. Until then, PLEASE LISTEN TO SPIN AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE!!!
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