B-Side Guys

Fresh to streaming platforms, “Out of Your Mind” arrives as a cerebral puzzle-box that refuses easy categorization. The collaborative effort between MURDOCK & URBAN FRANCIS demands patience – specifically 50 seconds worth – before revealing its true form.

The track’s opening establishes a deliberate false sense of security, laying down minimal percussion and atmospheric elements that seem to float rather than drive. This calculated restraint makes the subsequent transformation all the more effective. When the composition finally unfolds at the 50-second mark, it doesn’t merely shift gears – it reconfigures its entire mechanical structure.

What emerges is a fascinating temporal contradiction – simultaneously nostalgic and forward-looking. The breakbeat foundations recall trip-hop’s golden era without becoming a museum piece. Instead, the production incorporates contemporary textures that prevent any sense of retro cosplay, creating something that exists outside clear timeline placement.

The Beck comparison proves apt, though not in the obvious ways one might expect. Like Beck’s most interesting work, “Out of Your Mind” demonstrates how disparate elements can coexist within a single composition – analog warmth bleeding into digital precision, structured verses dissolving into experimental passages. The production achieves a particular magic trick: sounding meticulously constructed yet partially improvised.

Particularly noteworthy is how the track handles space. Rather than filling every available frequency, MURDOCK & URBAN FRANCIS employ strategic emptiness, allowing certain elements to reverberate fully before introducing counterpoints. This approach creates a three-dimensional listening experience where sounds don’t simply play left-to-right but seem to occur at varying distances from the listener.

For trip-hop enthusiasts or those seeking music that rewards repeated listening, “Out of Your Mind” offers a compact but densely layered journey – one that seems to rearrange its furniture with each visit.