Off of Twin Flames, the third album from Wintersleep frontman Paul Murphy’s solo project, POSTDATA, comes a visual cornucopia as longtime collaborator and director Christopher Mills takes a crack at “Inside Out.” It’s an ode to all-consuming love, a message for those wary of behind burnt away with it and, even possibly, an anthem for the demisexual. Above all, by Murphy’s own description the song is uplifting and unabashedly openhearted, leaving us to sort out this puzzle box of new visuals through that lens.
Director Christopher Mills has already been responsible for creating several videos for both Wintersleep and POSTDATA. Much like the layered collage of Wintersleep’s “Forest Fire”, “Inside Out” piles with little bits of everything to produce a larger whole. We see Murphy singing out from the rooftops about the object of his affection as he’s washed in dreamy golden hues and surrounded by figures that we suspect require another watching of 21 Grams to fully comprehend.
“But I don’t fear you I just want to be near you, to touch you right here,” sings Murphy as he assures us he only loves from the inside out while spirits seem to hover around him.
Perhaps, the message here is that to truly love someone we must first fall in love with their ghost; embrace the possibility that they might Jacob Marley our weekends from here to eternity.
“This one has a lot of hidden stories and messages,” says Mills. “Built on a cool, flowy narrative that Paul wrote that felt a bit like if Jane Siberry wrote a Fairytale book about Toronto Bohemian Dayze of the 80’s, and asked if a descendent of Edward Munch, (or people awkwardly pretending to be that way), would email a bunch of really cool videos to bust around with by iPhone. Man, I love this Music.”
POSTDATA’s latest album, Twin Flames, was released via Paper Bag Records on March 5, 2021.