We don’t often recognize the strangeness of time. Is it cyclical? Is it linear? Does getting to work on time even matter? Am I the same person I was 10 years ago. Am I better – or, perhaps, am I worse? Time passes, and there are certain things we only can realize after the moment, and the people and places tied to it, are gone.

Ben William does not hide anything on the title of his latest EP. But there is a certain philosophical tension at play: Can something be good if it doesn’t last? Can the past have any worth at all? The post-modern inclination by definition is to tear down what came before, but at what point do we cut out so many roots that the entire tree topples? Or, perhaps more simply, can we look at the past and learn from it – maybe even long for parts of it – while understanding things had to change?

I Miss Everyone is six tracks of thoughtful lyrical prose that wrestle with looking back and looking around. As far as genre descriptions go, singer-songwriter, indie, and maybe even lofi might work at times. The most experimental expressions are arguably the opening and closing tracks – the first being a piano ballad with autotuned harmonies, the latter being cemented around spoken word bits respectively. But between these bookends, the core of the collection explores folk-tinged arrangements about trying to make sense of the world.

“Nostalgia” is a poppier number about losing track of things. “This town runs on nostalgia. Hard to live when life’s come past ya,” William notes as he reflects on feeling like everyone can’t keep up with the pace of the world.

“Shiver” is a more straightforward acoustic number with a bit of a pop-punk feeling to it. William comments on losing a sense of control and the difficulties of chasing conventional definitions of success.

“Cold Blooms” pairs folk-like guitar with gentle keys and sentiments about changing seasons and places. The female harmonies are a powerful and sentimental addition. Like much of the tracks, there’s something here that feels straight out of the 00s, and this only cements the feeling of nostalgia.

The title track is easily the best thing off the release – the lyrics are bold, the riffs are fierce, and full-band production is so incredibly tight. “I guess it was fun, but now I miss everyone,” William notes before the twangy main riff rolls through. “I was terrified of becoming those guys that just like to sit around talking about heaven,” he confesses, regarding his time in ministry. The unfortunate thing about this song is that it manages to eclipse all of the others – lyrically and musically – and tracks that are otherwise strong in their own right feel weaker in comparison.

It’s worth noting several of these tracks are under three minutes and some of the momentum shifts pretty quickly. While the EP definitely has a lot of potential in its own right, the brevity of both the tracks and overall runtime of this release makes it feel more like a sketchbook of ideas. Now, conceptually, it’s meant as a companion piece to William’s earlier EP, Here, Now, which in many way does feel like a spiritual sister.

There are definitely some running lyrical threads, and that’s probably the bread and butter of this release. Williams finds a way to discuss thoughtful topic with singable one-liners, and even the opening and closing tracks, being musical outliers, still add appropriately to the conversation. “So much bad advice in the name of the Lord,” Williams admits on “Center.” But by the close of “Skip Survey,” there’s an admission that sometimes it’s a matter of looking at the things we don’t tend to notice. The feelings of displacement, nostalgia, and failure aren’t completely removed, but there’s still beauty to behold.

As a whole, this is a concise EP, perhaps in some ways to its detriment, but it’s a powerful one at that. “Nostalgia” and “I Miss Everyone” stand out as personal favorites. “Skip Survey” isn’t bad by any stretch, but I think it’d feel a bit more useful with a couple extra tracks to round things out – again, half the songs here under three minutes and there could certainly be more to this concept. As far as overall songwriting goes, everything is pretty economical but it’s the fullness of tracks like “I Miss Everyone” where William excels the most. In fact, even if every other song was horrible, I’d still feel obligated to give him a shout here. Thankfully, each track holds its own, and no two songs sound quite the same – all while carrying the same alternative and folk flavors of years gone by.

William isn’t the first songwriter to speak about how life changes, and he won’t be the last. That said, his reflections are neither naïve nor cynical. This is an EP for those in uncertain circumstances, and it’s a powerful reminder of appreciating things around us.