Laura Mustard – Afraid Of The Dark (2025)
A resilient individual with inner strength, singer-songwriter Laura Mustard found a way to cope with difficulties for, well, almost her entire life. Raised in Connecticut, but now residing in Nashville, the US-based musician spent her childhood “…navigating doctors’ offices and medical routines at home as a result of some birth defects and… food allergies. These challenges lead to a habit of making up stories in her head as a type of processing…” With this creativity – even if some people might just call it dreaming – Mustard entered the world of songwriting with a penchant for relatable, intimate, and enduring stories.
Following her Christmas single, ‘Santa Paws’, Mustard steps into 2025 with ‘Afraid Of The Dark’. Retaining the strong folk-inspired tone we were introduced to on her 2024 EP, Dirty Minds & Wild Hearts, ‘Afraid Of The Dark’ binds the vintage sounds of Carol King with a contemporary Lana Del Rey flair. Oddly enough, her vocals seem to remind me of Carol King, but with the grittiness of Sheryl Crow sliced through the rich tone. Moreover, that rough rawness screams vulnerability but gives a kick of smoother, soothing folk-pop inclinations.
Vocally, Laura Mustard brings an obscurity to the music scene that is not easily forgotten; however, there is far more to ‘Afraid Of The Dark’ than an intriguing voice. A song about PTSD, one would imagine a haunting ballad or mournful tune, but that’s not the case. Produced by Nolan Sorsby, Mustard is joined by session musicians on a fiddle, mandolin and horn – all joined in a united sense of upbeat sentimentality, toe-tapping sincerity, and a danceable track that makes you grin from the outset. This juxtaposition of happy sounds and tragic themes adds weightiness to ‘Afraid Of The Dark’. Mustard explains:
“October 15th is the anniversary of the night I got carjacked off of Music Row, and this single is the most cathartic song I have ever written. Being “afraid of the dark” is a metaphor for having PTSD. That night changed the way I move through the world and created a distinct “before” and “after”, and I hope it brings comfort to anyone else who is living their own “after” and dealing with the question, “What if what doesn’t kill you leaves you looking over your shoulder?”…”
Find out more about Laura Mustard on her official website, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Spotify.
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