The Inside Out Tighten Their Grip on Memory and Motion with “The Way It Was”

The Connecticut indie/emo quartet turns nostalgia into something immediate and a little bruised. At three minutes, the new single feels built for repeat plays, with the band’s alt-rock instincts sharpened into a cleaner and more confident statement

The Inside Out are a Connecticut indie/emo rock group formed in 2018, and point to The Strokes, Modest Mouse, and The Killers as key reference points. I hear that lineage in the "The Way It Was"' balance of bite, hook, and emotional restlessness.  The single arrived on June 6, 2025, sits on Black Barrel Records, and runs three minutes, which feels fitting for a track that wants to move quickly and leave a bruise.

What I like most is the way the song seems to tug at memory without getting sentimental about it. The Inside Out have already shown a taste for nostalgic, radio-ready alt-rock throwbacks on earlier releases like “Good Times,” and “The Way It Was” feels like a more focused extension of that instinct.  I hear a band trimming the excess, trusting the melody, and letting the emotional weight sit in the phrasing, and that discipline gives the single a strong pull.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out The Inside Out on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist