B-Side Guys

The spaces between expectations and reality often yield the most honest art. On “leg tat,” the second release under the feeling it fearing it moniker, this Northwest Arkansas-based project transforms mid-twenties disorientation into a bedroom recording that feels both intimate and expansive.

Opening with unvarnished directness—”I saw Robert yesterday/he said everyone knows his name”—the track immediately establishes its central tension: recognition versus anonymity, belonging versus displacement. The vocalist delivers these lines with a deliberate flatness that belies their emotional weight, creating contrast between casual observation and deeper existential questioning.

The production choices enhance this thematic exploration perfectly. Layers of electric guitars create textural depth rather than technical showmanship, while the homemade drum machine samples establish rhythmic foundation without dominating the mix. Most effective are the triple-tracked vocals, which create the sensation of internal dialogue—multiple voices within the same consciousness debating life choices and their consequences.

What resonates most powerfully is how the track captures the peculiar anxiety of hometown returns. When the narrator confesses “every time I go back to my hometown/I’m reminded of all the folks I let down,” they articulate something profoundly universal about the weight of unfulfilled potential. The recurring refrain “my leg tat makes me numb to that” serves as shorthand for physical markers of divergence from expected paths—permanent evidence of choices that set one apart from conventional trajectories.

The song’s emotional core emerges in its second verse, where age becomes explicit metric for supposed inadequacy: “26 and I played it safe/all my family thinks it’s going great/somehow I feel far from okay.” This articulation of the gap between external perception and internal reality cuts straight to the heart of mid-twenties disorientation—when success by conventional standards fails to provide promised fulfillment.

In fusing elements of shoegaze atmosphere, slowcore pacing, and emo vulnerability, feeling it fearing it crafts something that transcends simple genre exercise. The DIY production approach—self-recorded, mixed, and mastered—reinforces the project’s thematic exploration of self-definition outside established structures.

For anyone who’s ever sat on a back porch in their hometown, comparing their path to former classmates and wondering about roads not taken, “leg tat” offers resonant reassurance that such questioning isn’t just normal—it’s potential creative fuel for something genuine and affecting.