Funnily enough, I was just having a discussion on the train about the sheer conventionality of today’s music and the suspicious lack of protest songs. I know that America has Jesse Wells but there surely must be more literate discontents somewhere else in the world. As an answer to my question, and to their credit, Motihari Brigade certainly make some effort at social commentary over the course of their album “Problematic”.
I suppose it would seem like an odd commercial choice in these times of Stepford Wives style compliance to introduce discontent with the world into the mix of musical inspiration that brings an album to fruition. Motihari Brigade’s targets are, however, selected more by frustration and general grumpiness than actual outrage or a solar powered desire for social change but this approach at least allows a degree of humour to make itself evident with, as an example, “Chatbot Don’t Like It” being rather likely to induce a smile in anyone who has spent five hours on hold on the billing support line to (expletive deleted) Scottish Power.
This album is often that so damnably polite that you might to be given to wonder if tea and scones will be served with the next revolution. That said, there is never any doubt that actual people were involved in the making of “Problematic” and even the inclusion of a respectful cover of a real angry protest song like “Fortunate Son” seems both strangely appropriate and still relevant to today.
Available from Bandcamp and the usual digital places.