Here are some of the influences, decisions and processes that went into creating some of the music and lyrics for Places in Between.
There was some debate if this should be one or two songs on the album. “Image” was the second song written for the album with “Spirit” being prepended a few weeks later. In many ways I consider this song the heart and soul of the album and really set the baseline and direction for what the album should sound like. I wanted the music to be big and epic.
“Image” is all based around a single guitar riff:
“Spirit” I remember very little about, other than I wanted to amend “Image” to create something longer with more build-up to the wall of sound of the second half.
The lyrics for this song were written some time ago and yet somehow feel really relevant today! Sometimes I write songs from my own experience and my own emotions and feelings and sometimes I write from the perspective of some other person/character. In this instance, it’s a little of both. I think this perspective is of a person I used to be—looking back at who I was and some of the struggles and challenges I faced as I tried to find my place in the world in my mid 20’s to early 30’s. There’s that person that you are inside and the person that you show to the outside world (and how they see you) and the dichotomy between those two.