THE INNER WORLD OUTSIDE

Electric Mud have dared an experiment on their latest album to reinvent themselves and expand their spectrum. The duo (Nico Walser, Hagen Bretschneider) has become an ensemble of six people (+ Timo Aspelmeier, David Marlow, Judith Rezzlik, Andrea Weiß) . I think they wanted to go a step further and integrate new ideas and influences into the Electric Mud sound with the help of the new musicians. The best song on the album, which deeply impresses immediately on the first listen is "The Fear Within" with its dark tones and menacing vibes. I also like "Silent Stranger Suite" with its slightly mysterious and ambient atmosphere. The mystical-symphonic opener "Exploring The Great Wide Nothing" also pleases. Most of the tracks are well done and interesting, although I would say that only "The Fear Within" reaches the heights of the last two albums. Overall, this is a good solid album with some great songs, but I prefer some of their earlier works such as "Quiet Days On Earth" which creates a calm but dense and intense atmosphere with great compositions and almost perfect production, or "The Deconstruction Of Light" with its roaring guitars, emotional soloing, bassy rock grooves and absolutely stunning keyboards. In these two albums you found yourself feeling the music and drowning in the sea of emotions that the musicians painted for us. This is my biggest criticism of "The Inner World Outside": The album sounds very ambitious but does not reach the feelings of the listener. This may have different reasons. The production is not as convincing as on the predecessors. Even more critical I see the compositions, which are musically great implemented but rarely touch emotionally. I hope that Electric Mud will find back to their old qualities in the future. I will continue to watch them. They are always good for a surprise.