A throwback power-pop charm excels on “In The End,” a recent track from Mr Henry and Side Hustle, the solo project of drummer and songwriter Henry Weisiger. The song invigorates in themes of identity, growth, and self-determination. Through two characters — a young man eager to fit societal expectations, and a young woman driven by emotion — reflections persist on the phases of youth and the search for meaning. It’s a thorough success from Weisiger, also featuring keyboard player Rick Seracino and guitarist William “Bill” Winslow (who also plays with Weisiger in the band Blue Book Value).
Tender guitar twangs open the track with a starry-eyed, nostalgic entrancement — like something that would play during a dance set in the 1960s. The ensuing warmness, from piano and guitar, drive into a vocal emergence that depicts the track’s central character: “He was a young man, he wore old man’s clothes.” His looking into the future suggests ambition, though with time’s passage it results in “his plans sat on a shelf.” The track thoroughly compels in its portrayal of one’s dreams, and whether they come true or not.
Lovely vocal harmonies bolster the production alongside melodic organs, as the lead vocals sing with clarity: “But in the end, we are the only ones who can make our dreams come true.” The subsequent verses, now portraying a “young girl,” depicts one guided by their heart — for better or worse, as they contemplate what-could-have-been. “In The End” is an affecting success of a track from Mr Henry and Side Hustle, chronicling life’s various passages within a replay-inducing, timeless-feeling rock allure.
Weisiger elaborates more on the track:
“As an older musician, I have gone thru many life experiences including fatherhood. Not sure if I was writing as a father or for myself but I use too characters: young male who possibly has just joined the workforce and wants badly to fit in: ” he was a young man, he wore old man’s clothes”. The other is a young woman who isn’t really thinking about her future or her goals: “she was a young girl and liked to dress the part, didn’t think too much she mostly used her heart”. We all go thru phases but I note that we are the only one who can make the changes we desire: ” in the end, we are the only ones who can make our dreams come true.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
