“Living In A Haze” by Milky Chance

Milky Chance is a rock bad from the German city of Kassel. This act, which is by and large considered to be a duo made up of co-founders Clemens Rehbein (vocalist) and Philipp Dausch (drummer) but also consists of guitarist Sebastian Schmidt, has been around for a little over a decade now and within that time experienced a bit of success in the UK and stateside.

Said success was most notably achieved during the band’s early goings and especially for the most part in relation to Milky Chance’s debut album, “Sadnecessary” (2013), which earned itself a number of certifications around the globe.

As for “Living in a Haze”, with its release date of 1 March 2023, it represents the lead single and title track from the band’s forth studio album, which is brought to us through Muggelig Records.

Milky Way produced the track with Decco, a unit consisting of Joacim Persson and Sebastian Arman. And it is Persson, Arman, Rehbein and Dausch who are individually credited with writing this song.

“LIVING IN A HAZE”, IN ESSENCE A DANCE-ESPOUSEMENT SONG

All lyrics considered, when the vocalist puts forth that he’s been “living in a haze”, that phrase pretty much reads as if it is synonymous with him being depressed. This is a premise we come across quite regularly as far as dance songs are concerned. And in such scenarios, the way that depression – or “haze” in this case – is mitigated is through good ol’ carefree dancing.

Or, that’s at least the way Clemens is idealizing the situation. The refrain gives the impression that he may have already found himself in a venue such as a nightclub yet is “moving like (he’s) paranoid” therein.

But he rather wishes that he “was a discoboy”, i.e. recognizing that “should be dancing” but, due to being caught up in a funk, is unable to rightfully do so.

But ultimately, the singer does resolve to “wear (his) favorite color tonight” and to also “shake it like the thunder”. In other words, he’s going to make a conscientious effort to “(dance) the pain away” instead of given in to the “haze”, which is a modus operandi Rehbein likens to living “a foolish life”.

So from a lyrical perspective, the way this piece differs from the usual song of this nature is in the vocalist actually admitting that as it currently stands, he’s personally facing challenges in terms of letting loose on the dancefloor.

So ultimately, “Living in a Haze” is a yet another espousement, though in a roundabout way, of dancing being a viable remedy to depression. However, in this instance let’s conclude by saying that whereas, as inferred, Clemens may not usually find himself feeling inhibited in such a manner, this song still more squarely acknowledges that devil-may-care boogying isn’t something that just anybody can do.

“I’ve been up a couple days, I wonder why
I’ve been living in a haze, what a foolish life
Now I’m back out on the pavement, don’t know why
I should be dancing, I should be dancing the night away”