CS Hellmann’s new EP ‘In My Head’ erupts like someone finally tearing through the fog to reclaim the spark that’s been flickering just out of reach. If the Nashville artist’s previous work hinted at something stirring beneath the surface, these two tracks crack the whole thing wide open. It’s bold, emotionally supercharged, and powered by the kind of creative chemistry artists spend years chasing.
Right from the jump, the title track sets the tone for the entire release. Hellmann plunges straight into the tug-of-war between ambition and reality, giving voice to that gnawing tension between wanting more and feeling worn down by the grind. The production, shaped masterfully by longtime collaborator Jared Corder, is massive. ’80s-soaked synths bloom into shimmering widescreen textures, Mellotron wisps float at the edges, and the bassline hums with neon-lit urgency.
Then there’s the most thrilling choice of all: Hellmann’s baritone shadowed by an AI-generated female counterpart, two octaves above. The effect is magnetic, like two versions of the same soul singing in parallel universes. It’s eerie, beautiful, and so strangely intimate.
From there, the EP dives into ‘Love I Left Behind’, a song that hits like a confessional whispered after a long night staring at the ceiling. The artist confronts a moment of real personal rupture, where the weight of his own habits forced him to see the harm reflected back at him through someone he loved. Corder’s production here is a masterclass in restraint and tension, with layered percussion beating like a second heartbeat, guitars soaked in reverb and Ebow howls, and textures that shimmer between industrial grit and emotional clarity.
It’s vulnerable, but never defeated; more like the first deep breath after realising something has to change.
These songs feel sharper, more distilled, and more purposeful than anything Hellmann has released before. And with the added symmetry of the EP’s two tracks, the first he ever made with Corder and the newest, you can feel the arc of their creative evolution humming beneath every second.
This EP is the sound of transformation in real time. It’s moody and cinematic, yes, but it’s also alive with momentum, and the promise of a full-length project that could hit even harder.
If ‘In My Head’ is CS Hellmann’s opening salvo for what comes next, consider the fuse officially lit.