I’m a big fan of when artists do more conceptual releases like Gnash has done today with the dual release of his two new singles Outside and Inside, two polar opposites focusing on the fear and the hope of his own personal psyche. It’s a unique concept that captured my interest and after one listen I wasn’t disappointed, in fact I’d say it’s safe to say that Gnash exceeded by expectations and then some with these two tracks.
Outside is reminiscent of the old songs you’d sing around a campfire with the warm tones of the guitar comforting you from start to finish as Gnash intimately tells the story of the fears he’s been experiencing recently during the current pandemic but the final lyric offers a source of hope, “why don’t we turn it around, spend the rest of the day with our head in the clouds.”
Inside is a stream of conscious thought, you hear the inner most thoughts of Gnash here with the main focus being on him slowly discovering things about himself that he doesn’t like and making conscious resolutions to try and change some of that with the looping hook, “I don’t like who I am sometimes,” being a perfect representation of that little voice we all have in the back of our head.
“Fear and Hope,” Gnash begins to explain. “Those are the two emotions I’ve been feeling most recently. Like all of you, I’ve had some time to think for some months now. In the form of a mediation, outside/inside is a journey through my daily thought process. “outside” is a deep dive down into my mind without my usual sugarcoating on. “inside” allows me to honestly confess some realizations & resolutions I’ve made from the self-reflection time we’ve all accidentally found ourselves with.”Â