Review by Matt Miller
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?