420Muse Releases “In The Nightclub”

In his latest offering, 420Muse established himself as a premier songwriter above everything else, and perhaps the best example of the record’s top-notch composing can be found in his striking new single, “In The Nightclub.” In “In The Nightclub,” Jack Miller takes a conservative approach to an otherwise flowing melodic tune that is both experimental and quite stimulating for fans of pop, soul, and adult contemporary alike. Anyone who has heard his project’s work before this release is bound to notice his ongoing growth and the amazing development he’s had as a songwriter.

This master mix is really tight and meticulously put together, and though I looked as closely as I could, I wasn’t able to locate any of the stock fluff that has become all too common among new soul music in the last decade. Jack Miller has no room for the bells and whistles that some of his less than erudite peers would lean on in constructing a big hook here; in “In The Nightclub,” he follows the whim of an angular harmony only to the point of matching his words with the emotion in the nearby melody (an astute move for any artist to make).

It would be really interesting to hear how 420Muse would tackle this single in a live setting, mostly because there are so many different ways in which it could be adapted and performed, depending on the crowd and the venue. I’d love to find out what it would sound like in a more of a stripped-down format, with our leading man taking on the role of a traditional singer/songwriter, clad with only a piano and the naturally reverberating acoustics of a concert hall, or preferably a small, smoky nightclub somewhere under the city lights.

Textural expressiveness has become a bit of a calling card for the music of 420Muse, and in this sense, “In The Nightclub” is aligned perfectly with pretty much everything he’s ever recorded in his career up until now. The instruments exude as much of an emotional finish as any of his actual verses are, and in the fever pitch of any given harmony, we’re not only afforded an up close and personal look at the relationship between an artist and his backing band but we’re put into a state of mind being described in the lyrics.

It’s hardly his only hit (and I don’t think it’s going to be the only release that has his moniker back in the headlines this year), but 420Muse’s “In The Nightclub” is a great listen this September for fans both old and new alike. Soul music is changing in ways that many of us can barely keep up with, but with talented performers like Jack Miller leading the charge in the American underground, I feel confident in knowing that the best is still yet to come. Simply put, 2023 is turning up the heat, and he’s making a big impact with a song soul and pop music aficionados around the planet need to hear.

Mindy McCall