“Inside Out” started off as a shimmering acoustic guitar idea that Rat demoed and saved in a folder he called “Maybe send to Laura”. I’m very glad he did send it to me! After sharing the punchy riffs of “Let It Snow” with you at the end of 2020, we wanted to conjure a different mood, so I encouraged Rat to layer up the guitars while I went off to write the melody, lyrics and cello parts.
This song is about dealing with the new groundhog-day-normal many of us have been experiencing for the past year: the highs, mediums and lows of a life made much smaller by circumstance. Ravelling and unravelling at different speeds to those around us, perhaps: trying to feel a semblance of forward motion; trying to remember what the point is. Deciding to keep hoping.
With musicians having to wait for in-person work to be possible again, it felt like the right time to get back in touch with my A-Level Music pal David Lale, who has played for the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the past 8 years. I always knew he’d go far!
David played the parts beautifully, of course, and added some extra touches in the instrumental to take it to new heights. It was a lovely opportunity to work together for the first time since we arranged Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” for a school concert back in the day. Thank you, David.
Fun fact: the original working title of this song was “Spider_Capo”. Rat, ever the fan of using different tunings but lacking the will to actually tune his guitars alternately, clearly needed to get a new toy. A novice attempt at using the spider capo (a piece of equipment strongly resembling a torture device) resulted in the basic melodic chords being written for the song that would become “Inside Out”.
lyrics
Lifelines are melting away
Handing off to the people we pay
Shy to communicate
Counting days til we can get more interesting
I’m replacing fear with doubt
But I’m still turning inside out
And you can show up every day
But I’m still turning inside, inside out
Nightmares and reveries
All my dreams now deliver to sea
Trust in my memories
Counting weeks til we can get more interesting
I’m replacing fear with doubt
But I’m still turning inside out
And you can show up every day
But I’m still turning inside, inside out
I’m replacing fear with doubt
But I’m still turning inside out
And you can show up every day
But I’m still turning inside, inside out
I’ve been letting the good side down
But I’m still turning inside out
And you can show up every day
But I’m still turning inside, inside out
credits
from Let It Snow,
track released April 2, 2021
Written by Rat & Laura.
Produced by Laura Kidd.
Mixed by Dan Austin.
Mastered by Katie Tavini.
Guitar performed and recorded by Rat.
Vocals performed and recorded by Laura Kidd.
String arrangement by Laura Kidd, performed and recorded by David Lale.
"...an album that looks as much to this side of The Pond as the UK, She Makes War's debut album is a dark melange of 90s Riot Grrrl meets indie-pop meets disquieting ballads, all the time not missing a beat..."
https://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com/ steveinsocal
