In Kind is Tchad Cousins, an act from Kalamazoo, Michigan that’s been putting out music for only a couple of years. There have been scattered singles over the last two to three years, but now they take a big step forward with an EP put on Young Heavy Souls, From a Star.

On this EP, one of the things that will become apparent pretty quickly is that In Kind is not content to play within the lines of any one genre. Over the course of six tracks, we get a psychedelic, soulful journey that draws upon hip hop, R&B, jazz, synth-pop, post-rock, and more. The compositions, built on drum machines, synthesizer, and guitar, are put together very carefully, often eschewing traditional pop structure. Instead, In Kind usually builds around riffs and melodic motifs, and then fleshes out the songs from there, layering instrumentation and vocals, often adding some interesting shifts via the bridge/breakdown. The vocals are whisper-sung, helping to create this really intimate atmosphere to the EP, making it ideal to listen to on headphones. The mix of these elements result in a sound that falls somewhere in between His Name Is Alive and Junior Boys. It’s the type of music that will really grow on with repeat listens, as the subtleties of the instrumentation and vocals reveal themselves to you. It’s an incredibly mature EP, and it really shows a lot of growth for In Keep.

I don’t know where In Keep will go from here, but his work on From a Star certainly has me interested. There is some really understated music on this EP that isn’t easily defined. However, it’s still compelling enough to draw you in and just let In Keep take you on this short journey.