Photo: Camille Jansen on Instagram
Haunting. Like a face you see when you close your eyes, a pair of a lover's eyes you just can't forget. The ghost of a pst version of yourself. To listen to "Field of Mud" is to get swept underneath the sludge and trudge through a field of memories, crawling to the other side with a sense of triumph, having lived through a love story that was never truly finished.
The track is sang in its entirety by Jansen, created with the creative collaboration of producer Sacha Rudy and artist Lewis Ofman. Whilst keeping true to Rudy's flourishing and dynamic production, the song continues, if not elevates the narrative of Jansen's musical journey, continuing with the theme of love. Where "Louise" was the pain of letting someone go, "Field of Mud" is the comfortable ache in your chest immediately after letting go - not reminiscing on past memories through a pitiful lens, but rather a sad, satisfied smile of a life that was well-lived.
I can't keep myself from coming back to the cover photo of this review when I try to describe this track. Jansen, sitting in a self portrait, most likely two over laid images, with the scrawled out lyrics straight from her journal, the channeling of poignant thoughts in a pencil/paper medium. It's such a perfect way to describe this track - lyrics that are scrawled and raw, with Jansen pulling you under the metaphorical covers to tell you a flashlight-lit story of a past time, paired with a part of Jansen that can still feel, taste, and touch the memories, but the present her is standing up and walking away from the past to embrace love in the present.
Jansen, in all of her heavy-hearted and passionate vocals, shows more of her upper register and true vocal lilt. Ambient and tenebrous with a simple bass and wailing tones, the track by itself is a true masterpiece on Rudy and Ofman's part, and seems like a truly non-commercialized piece of art from one of the most transportive artists of our generation.
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