Nowadays by Inland Years (Interview 2026)

Edition Eighty-Two- Week Eighty-Two; Unit 2:

Written by: Mercedes Barreto

Introduction

Inland Years is the home recording project of Brooklyn musician Ryan Daniels, an artist whose work finds beauty in intimacy, imperfection, and emotional atmosphere. Built from layers of guitar, tape hiss, melodic warmth, and deeply personal songwriting, Inland Years explores the spaces between isolation and connection, memory and movement, distance and longing. There is a handmade quality to the music that feels unguarded and sincere—quietly haunting while still carrying a sense of hope. We are pleased to feature Inland Years in this digital magazine interview and take a closer look at the creative process, inspirations, and stories behind this distinctive musical project.

Short Review

Inland Years creates music that feels intimate from the very first moment. Ryan Daniels’ home-recorded approach gives the songs a warm, textured character, where guitars and subtle imperfections become part of the emotional language rather than something to be polished away. The result is a sound that feels both nostalgic and immediate. There is a thoughtful sense of longing throughout Inland Years’ music, but it never becomes entirely heavy. Instead, the songwriting balances reflection with melodic warmth, creating songs that feel personal, atmospheric, and quietly memorable. It is music for listeners who appreciate the beauty of honest details and the moments that continue to linger after the song has ended.

Q&A

Can you introduce yourself and tell us how the Inland Years project first began?

“Hi, I’m Ryan. The project began in earnest during the pandemic. I needed a safe harbor from all the pressures of the world. I’ve been in bands, toured and wrote songs before, but this time around I was actively trying to create and finish song a month. Once I found formula it ended up being once a week. It’s certainly saved me in a lot of ways.”

What do you enjoy most about creating and recording music in such a personal environment?

“I like that there is no separation between writing and recording. I can have an idea in the morning, record it that afternoon, change it at midnight and decide the next day that the original version was better. There is something nice about keeping that immediacy. The limitations are part of it too. I am not trying to make a perfect recording. I like hearing the room, the hiss, the mistakes and all the little things that make it feel like somebody actually made it.”

Your music has been described as short, unguarded, and layered with guitars, tape hiss, and melodic warmth. How would you personally describe the Inland Years sound?

“I would probably call it lo fi pop or slacker rock, some people whose tastes I respect call it power pop too. I don’t think too much about genre when I’m making it. I like simple songs and good melodies. A lot of the songs are short because I don’t really see a reason to keep going once I’ve said what I wanted to say. Get in and get out.”

You record everything yourself. What does having complete creative control over the process mean to you?

“It means I can follow the song wherever it wants to go. I don’t have to explain an odd decision to anyone or worry about whether something is commercially sensible. Sometimes the best thing I can do is leave something alone. Sometimes I will record the same guitar part twenty times and then use the first one or maybe even keep the rest and bury them in the mix for an unsettling feeling. Having complete control lets me keep those decisions, as well as gives me the room for it without pressure.”

Where can we hear more, and why should we?

“The best place to start is Nowadays, my latest album. It is a collection of short songs about everyday life, relationships, memory and the places around me. It was recorded between Brooklyn and Pennsylvania and released digitally and on a limited cassette through BSDJ in Tokyo. You can find it on the usual streaming services and at Bandcamp.”

Anything to add here?

“I think the main thing is that Inland Years is not really about trying to build a perfect version of a band. It is about making songs and getting them out into the world. I still like the feeling of someone finding a record by accident, listening to it and deciding they want to hear it again. That’s probably the whole reason I keep doing it.”