Three Track Week #24: What We Carry With Us
- Anne
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
How Music Explores What Stays With Us
Not everything we leave behind is gone. Sometimes we carry grief, sometimes memories, and sometimes the people who quietly shape who we become. This week Three Track Week 24, Ona Mafalda, Man Mountain, and The Lazy Eyes each explore a different version of what stays with us.
Listen to this week’s Three Track Week 24 selection.
This week’s tracks are available in our playlist INDIENOXZINE | Selections, updated weekly on Spotify.
Ona Mafalda – When Finding Yourself Doesn't Mean Starting Over
Starting again is often imagined as leaving everything behind. Yet the strongest new beginnings rarely erase the past. They grow out of it. On "ANTHEM", Ona Mafalda sets the fragile space where melancholy and optimism coexist, turning personal transformation into something quieter than reinvention. Rather than searching for a completely new identity, she asks what it means to carry the people and experiences that continue shaping us.
Sound / Mood
Driven by shimmering indie-pop melodies, expressive guitar work and an understated emotional intensity, "ANTHEM" balances warmth with vulnerability. Its bright, uplifting production never fully abandons the wistfulness beneath the surface, allowing nostalgia and hope to exist side by side. The result feels expansive without losing intimacy, capturing the sensation of moving forward while remaining emotionally connected to what came before.
Why This Matters
Modern culture often celebrates reinvention as though becoming a better version of ourselves requires abandoning the person we once were. Social media rewards dramatic transformations, while personal growth is frequently measured by how completely we leave the past behind. Reality is rarely so absolute. More often, growth depends on recognising that our lives are built from experiences, relationships and memories that continue to influence us long after circumstances have changed. "ANTHEM" embraces that complexity. Rather than treating love and connection as obstacles to independence, the song suggests they become part of who we are. Its vision of transformation is neither radical nor nostalgic. Instead, it proposes that clarity arrives not when the past disappears, but when we learn to carry it without allowing it to define us.
Context
Following her 2025 album "Reset", which explored the courage required to begin again, Ona Mafalda continues that journey on the announced forthcoming EP "Todo en Orden" ("All in Order"). Written while touring across Spain, the project reflects the search for clarity after periods of uncertainty, bringing together her bilingual songwriting, indie-rock energy and emotionally direct storytelling into what feels like her most cohesive artistic statement to date.
🎧 Stream "ANTHEM " on Apple Music · Follow Ona Mafalda on Instagram
Man Mountain – When Grief Speaks Without Words
Lyrics often become the primary lens through which we understand emotional honesty in music. Instrumental bands, by contrast, ask listeners to find meaning elsewhere. On "Absence / Descent", Detroit post-rock quartet Man Mountain prove that silence can sometimes communicate experiences language struggles to contain. Built around themes of grief, loss and transformation, the track unfolds like an emotional narrative whose meaning emerges not through words, but through movement.
Sound / Mood
"Absence / Descent" moves patiently between tension and release, combining expansive post-rock crescendos with hazy shoegaze textures, ambient electronics and moments of crushing heaviness. The band's layered approach allows emotion to accumulate gradually rather than announcing itself outright. Every shift in dynamics feels deliberate, transforming the seven-minute journey into something deeply immersive and quietly devastating.
Why This Matters
Grief is often expected to be articulated. We ask people to explain how they feel, to describe their loss, to find the right words. Yet some experiences resist language altogether. Instrumental music occupies that space particularly well because it removes the expectation of explanation. Instead of telling listeners what to feel, it creates room for emotions that remain unresolved. "Absence / Descent" embraces that uncertainty. Rather than presenting grief as something to overcome, the song reflects its changing emotional landscape: moments of numbness, waves of intensity and the gradual search for acceptance. In doing so, Man Mountain remind us that healing is rarely linear. Sometimes the most honest response to loss is not explanation, but simply allowing ourselves to experience it.
Context
Released ahead of the band's first full-length album in six years, "Threads of Another Life", "Absence / Descent" sits at the emotional centre of a record shaped by the uncertainty, isolation and personal transformation that followed the pandemic years. Inspired in part by Frodo Baggins' question in "The Lord of the Rings - How do you pick up the threads of an old life?" - the album explores what remains after profound change, offering a collection of instrumental compositions that seek connection, hope and renewal without relying on a single lyric.
🎧 Stream "Abscence/ Descent " on Apple Music · Follow Man Mountain on Instagram
The Lazy Eyes – When Memories Refuse To Fade
Moving on is often treated as a sign of emotional maturity. Yet memory rarely follows that logic. Some people remain with us long after relationships end, not because we choose to hold on, but because certain emotions quietly settle into everyday life. On "Always In The Back Of My Mind", Australian psych-rock outfit The Lazy Eyes explore that lingering presence through a song that feels less like heartbreak than quiet acceptance.
Sound / Mood
Built around sludgy guitars, vintage Farfisa organ textures and shimmering psychedelic production, "Always In The Back Of My Mind" balances emotional introspection with melodic warmth. The band's signature psych-rock sensibilities remain intact, but the song leans further into classic pop songwriting, allowing its nostalgic atmosphere to unfold naturally. Rather than chasing dramatic release, it lingers, creating the feeling of a memory that never entirely disappears.
Why This Matters
Modern culture often frames healing as an act of letting go. We celebrate closure, fresh starts and emotional distance as markers of personal growth. But memory is rarely so obedient. Some people continue to shape us even after they have left our lives, becoming part of how we understand ourselves rather than something we simply leave behind. "Always In The Back Of My Mind" captures that quieter reality. It suggests that remembering does not necessarily prevent us from moving forward. Instead, memory can become another way of carrying love, longing and experience into the future. Rather than portraying the past as something that must be overcome, The Lazy Eyes acknowledge that some connections continue to exist precisely because they have changed us.
Context
Taken from the forthcoming album "Cheesy Love Songs", the single reflects a band embracing a more refined and emotionally direct approach to songwriting. Inspired by the timeless craftsmanship of classic pop while retaining their psychedelic identity, The Lazy Eyes use the record to explore love, uncertainty and self-discovery with a maturity that signals a confident new chapter.
🎧 Stream "Always In The Back Of My Mind " on Apple Music · Follow The Lazy Eyes on Instagram
Across these three releases, the past is never presented as something to escape. Man Mountain give grief a voice without words. The Lazy Eyes remind us that memory continues shaping the present. Ona Mafalda finds order not by erasing what came before, but by allowing it to remain. Together, these songs suggest that the people, places and moments we carry with us do not simply belong to the past. They quietly become part of who we are.
Further perspectives are available in our Artist Features, Cultural Essays and The Thing About Us, each situating music within broader cultural and creative contexts.
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