Music Can Change The World
It is believed that art is a powerful tool in spreading awareness and is effective in portraying human suffering resulting from political conflicts and otherwise. Whether it’s the powerful lyrics of “The Redemption Song” by Bob Marley or any Blues standard by the African-American artists decades ago, the sadness can be felt in the lyrics, boldly highlighted in the melancholy tunes. Get to Heaven consists of seventeen tracks (11 from the Standard edition and 6 from the Deluxe edition) focusing on several such problematic issues. Most of the songs have an indie-rock fused with electronic music kind of sound, occasionally touching elements of Electro-Pop.
The opening track called “To The Blade” talks about the ISIS beheadings of the British humanitarian aid worker Alan Henning. Vocalist Jonathan Higgs recalls in an interview how he had totally lost it and couldn’t believe how a good man like Alan was subjected to such torture. This song is one of the best tracks in this album.
The music video of the first released single and also the second track in the record named “Distant Past,” shows early cave men fighting with each other for survival. The band describes it as showing primal human nature no matter how much human civilization progresses. What is interesting to note is that even though the concept is so dark, the electro-pop style of the song, especially the chorus, might render a different mood if the lyrics aren’t paid enough attention. This is a common similarity in most of the songs where contrasting musical styles have been used to showcase disturbing facts. “Get To Heaven” is another good track with a Daft Punk inspired guitar funk strumming. The album also focuses on issues like the 2015 elections in the United Kingdom, various mass shooting and sadists deriving pleasures from killing people.
Musically, the band has tried to come up with a new way of songwriting deviating from their previous styles. However, it won’t be wrong to note that many of the songs sound very similar and can get monotonous. The production is quite good and its characteristic sound shows more inclination towards electronic music with a psychedelic touch.
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