Sydney progressive rock outfit Introspect have today released their latest EP Midnight Sun, a 29-minute adventure through triumph, adversity, heartbreak & reverence that should solidify their standing as a band who are unafraid to test their musical mettle.
Guitarist Loko McDonald sat down with HEAVY during the week to run us through the EP.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he laughed. “It’s a huge step up for us both production and songwriting wise. It’s been the better part of 18 months writing and the COVID lockdown so it’s been an incredibly long journey but we’re incredibly thrilled that it is about to be released. Very excited for the world to hear it. ”
While the album isn’t conceptual as such, it does follow certain feelings of triumph, adversity, heartbreak and revenge, a feature McDonald is happy to explain.
“The songs follow a specific theme in terms of the sonic nature of the music as well as the lyrics,” he measured. “So “Mjolnir”, the first single we released, is about the destruction of the earth and how we humans have all this power but we’re Gods without Grace and we don’t really know how to wield it. The third song “Itomori” is a love song of heartbreak and relentless ability to give up on something even if you think it’s gonna work. “The Wisdom Of Mountains” is kinda like sitting really low and you need something to guide you in a certain direction so the wisdom of mountains is a metaphor for how mountains are so old and have been here for millions of years and you just have to wonder what they’ve seen over all this time and then track number 5, “Leap of Faith” is exactly what it says, jumping straight into something and taking a gamble and seeing how you go and then “Stars End” is my favourite song n the EP for sure. It’s got all the elements of what we are as a band in there and it kind of ties it all together by saying there’s beauty in art and we have come to the realisation that the more we try the better we succeed. That’s the theme we’re going for.”
In the full interview Loko goes into more detail about the songs on Midnight Sun, the arrangements on some of the more technical songs, musical progression within the band, how COVID impacted Introspect specifically, future plans and more.
Watch “The Wisdom Of Mountains” below:
