Clear vocals in the upper range make up the stratosphere over bright and dreamy synths, the popping and clicking beats of a drum machine in a slow-dance tempo, and the feeling of hope in dire circumstances present in iens’ “In This Town”. This song was reportedly written during the height of the ongoing COVID pandemic, likely during lockdown, yet producer Ivan Landinez and composer/lyricist Jens Christen Anders Klitgaard Nelsson stress that one’s interpretation of the song need not be so literal. An examination of Nelsson’s lyrics shows as much:
so many mornings
so many nights
wasting my good years
in this town
so many warnings
so many signs
I know my way here
in this town
There’s a sort of acceptance to these opening verses, an acknowledgment of the time spent in one place despite every clear indicator that such stagnation would not be conducive to personal growth. Other stanzas echo the same sentiment: This place, whether a literal place or a metaphor for one’s internal state, locks its inhabitant in a sedentary haze where time can pass on, yet they themselves cannot.
Where, then, can one find hope in this state of being? That factor is much more subtle than the feeling of being stuck in place when analyzing Nelsson’s lyrics. Personally, I feel the hope here is present in an understanding that while this fixation in one place is unfortunately the nature of one’s reality at the moment, it need not be an eternal condemnation; while the chains draped across one’s soul can weigh heavily…
I’m givin’ in
the cold bites my chin
and the air feels so thin
in this town
…the little moments of peace and levity are cherished all the more deeply.
I’m sleepin’ in
your hair’s on my skin
and the world lies within
in this town
Sonically, the song’s simplicity allows for a peaceful, ambient-like sound behind the initial verses before climbing to a wondrous and almost cheerful high energy at the chorus; little flourishes run along the ear like the shimmering scales of a butterfly passing by overhead. The instrumental is something that I would consider fitting for a cross-country road trip, apropos to the song’s title and theme at the time it was written. The final master for the track gives it a nostalgically fuzzy feel, like a home movie on VHS.
In short, iens managed to capture the hope found in a rainy Sunday morning during the months it takes one to save up enough money to move out of their hometown with “In This Town”. I would recommend the song to anyone who feels stuck in a rut, or perhaps anyone in need of a song to play in the car on their way to work (not that those would be mutually exclusive categories every time); either way, it may give you the strength to find hope in the little examples of beauty, like the sunbeams through your windshield or the warmth of the last loved one you’d hugged still clinging to your body. “In This Town” is currently available for streaming on Spotify.
Written by Alexei Lee
