Jared & the Mill Deliver a Searing Opus with “Feels Like” (premiere)

Jared & the Mill are straight-shooters. From the start, the indie rockers have made a living out of telling like it is without any strings or frills attached. That extends to their sound, too, replete with swirling, gothic rhythms, rich guitar tones, and sincere vocal deliveries, which feature on their forthcoming album set to be released in early 2019.

Ahead of that, Jared & the Mill are sharing a new single with PopMatters readers. “Feels Like” begins with soft-toned acoustic rhythms, gradually shifting in levels of intensity to dynamically tell a story of inner conflict. The electricity kicks up a few notches by the second verse, inviting crunching riffs and furthered progressive percussion as frontman Jared Kolesar stretches his vocal grit. With a run-time that hits just over seven and a half minutes, there is plenty of time for the band to stretch their wings. They deliver a scorching rock performance that consistently shifts in how it musically tells its story. The result is a piece of work that is sure to impress those who appreciate the indie rock format as Jared & the Mill make strides with this searing opus.

Kolesar tells PopMatters, “‘Feels Like’ is a song about the common struggle of a person vs. the self. Our innate fight against the nature of ourselves, I think it’s a common point of anxiety for a lot of people, but ‘even stars fight their own gravity’:

“It’s kind of a note to self or a friend in the face of a situation that may seem too daunting or difficult to overcome. More specifically my inability to always communicate effectively with people that I care about. I often feel like I have some disconnect with the people who mean most to me, and I don’t know how long it will take to get the point that allows me to break through. ‘I don’t know how long I shouldn’t know’ and ‘these words are broken, they’re not what I mean’ cover this best I think, it’s a helpless thing to feel like you can’t connect with the people you love.”