Winter is known for keeping us cooped up while we look out of our windows in the hopes of seeing a break in the clouds as the rain seems to fall down in unrelenting sheets.
“New State of Mind,” the new single from Bay Area indie-groove artist, Frank Ivy, feels like that break in the clouds. The song begins as though it’s playing in the back of your head, somewhere far away, the distant memory of better times and a new state of mind. At 14 seconds in, the clouds part, and the music bursts through in full force, upping the tempo and increasing serotonin. Though the rain has bound us to the confines of our home, the song makes you feel like going on a run, and that’s no accident.
“It’s a hopeful and exciting up-tempo record about moving on from the past and not letting anything hold you back,” Ivy says. “We zoom out and start thinking about fate, purpose and the perception of time.”
Whether the song is making you go outside for a breath of fresh air or it’s urging you to get up and dance, it is sticking to its mission and helping you to a new state of mind. Epitomized by Ivy’s lyric, “anywhere we’re going, it’s gotta be closer to a new state of mind.”
If you’ve ever had to work an 8-hour day, sitting behind a desk or standing behind a counter, patiently waiting for Friday to come, this song is for you. Not only because it’s relatable in its discussion of that feeling exactly but because it urges you to re-frame this way of thinking.
So, this winter, whether you’re stuck inside because of inclement weather or with a bad case of seasonal affective disorder, get up, turn on your speakers and get a New State of Mind. After all, one of the best cures for repetition, is changing your point of view.
Review by Eli Chavez