Echo Strike: back on the scene with a brand new release: Not Inside Your Mind.
October 2020 – Texas pop-rockers Echo Strike know a thing or two about creating catchy, yet energetic tunes.
Their 2019 debut album, “Honest Lies,” was well-received in the industry, leading to a lot of buzz and attention surrounding the band’s work.
Lately, they’ve been hard at work on new music, building the sonic foundations for what would eventually become their sophomore album: “Not Inside Your Mind.”
This record channels the energy and character of the band. At the same time, it feels like a gigantic step forward. The group’s creative vision truly takes flight, embracing different influences and turning an unexpected situation into an opportunity for unique thinking.
In fact, one of the band members got stuck in Argentina due to COVID-19, but this only served as a challenge for the band to keep finding new ways to compose. The 13 songs on “Not Inside Your Mind” are catchy and personal, highlighting the band’s ability and commitment to creating something special for their audience, and themselves.
Find out more about Echo Strike, and check out “Not Inside Your Mind,” which is currently available on the web.
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“Not Inside Your Mind” is the sophomore record from pop rock band Echo Strike, following the release of their debut album “Honest Lies” last year. With that previous album, the eight-man band – led by vocalist Randy Van Gelder – delivered a collection of songs with breezy, pleasant-sounding production (with sonic influences of jazz, blues, new wave and electronic music) and interesting yet catchy lyrics and hooks.
According to their official website, the band’s first world tour was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Randy found himself stranded in Argentina. Like many creatives the world over, Randy sought not to let this unforeseen circumstance deter him from continuing his creative output. And so he started writing and composing the songs that will become the 13-track “Not Inside Your Mind” album with virtual assistance from his fellow bandmates.
Even if you go into this record not knowing about the pandemic-led creative process behind it, its overarching theme of being unafraid of stepping out of one’s comfort zone is made clear from the opening track (and one of its singles) “Catch Me” onwards. And while on the surface, Randy expresses this theme in an external fashion (i.e. literally getting out of your house and opening yourself to new experiences), there’s also an internal, emotional subtext to what’s being addressed on this record. However, Randy wisely suggests to the listener – and pretty much ANYONE dealing with these quarantined times – to not stay cooped up “inside your mind” out of fear, concern, anger or pain.
Much of this album is beautifully thought out with a flow that precedes expectation on the second listen. There’s something intensely admirable about artists who mine such traditional veins of inspiration and present their work in such a fresh, memorable light. Not Inside your Mind’s thirteen songs are full of individuality and faithfulness to tradition, but they are likewise forward looking and rarely content to lean on the expected. The album features infectious hooks, clever riffs, and bouncing beats in a fantastic funhouse of sound, proving Echo Strike to be true masters of thought-provoking pop
