Get social with Simen Mitlid in “Away”

After two years of social distancing, coming back together for any kind of social gathering can cause some mixed feelings. Simen Mitlid takes us through the ups and downs of that experience in the focus track from his aptly named new EP, Social.

The track, “Away”, opens with a fun, bouncy melody that keeps interrupting itself. You can feel the different voices coalescing into a single thought, reverberating together. As Mitlid’s gentle voice enters, he brings a new perspective. “Take me away. I’ll do anything; it’s hopeless.” A sharp juxtaposition with the happy lyrics.

His voice carries the reserve some of us still feel. We feel like we’re at the party with him. The orchestration is much larger than Simen Mitlid usually writes, further emphasizing the crowded space.

Despite the orchestration and additional electronics, Simen Mitlid keeps an indie folk quality in the sound. Lyrics like “speaking with my inner demons” bridge that gap between his previous work and this new release.

But as the track ends, he leans hard into the new indie-pop vibe. There’s a sparkle of hope and a fun repeated sound that links the artist to the crowd again. Things are coming back. We just have to adapt again.

Stream “Away” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.