Racism, sexism, violent nationalism and dangerous perversions of religion always walk hand in hand, and The North Star seeks to navigate these interconnected battlefields. The resulting collection of 12 songs could be summed up by the increasing realization that justice is always intersectional. Over the three and a half years since the release of Commodity, Remedy Drive's activism model and outlook have been refined through on-the-ground experience. The North Star is the second installment of this chapter of Remedy Drive's legacy, with many of the songs conceived in the heart of the battle for justice in Southeast Asia. Remedy Drive's revenue became a fundraiser, their lead singer David Zach became a frontlines operative and the songs became the soundtrack for a movement. With the release of Commodity, the newly-independent band became a vehicle for justice in partnership with counter-trafficking organization The Exodus Road. In 2014, Remedy Drive initiated a profound shift in their purpose. Click to add lyrics if not listed.įiery-Eyed Redemption Songs | Posted January 11, 2018 The reprise of "Sunlight on Her Face" is fitting, as this, finally, is the takeaway of Remedy Drive's most original and searching album to date: Where are you? Are you helping the refugees, the exiles, the slaves? Where do you fit into this abolitionist's anthem, these songs of freedom fighters in their joy and in their hopelessness? Have you joined the fight?Ĭlick here to add a video.
The song is at once universal and divinely personal: it evokes the image of one girl in captivity while encompassing the suffering of all women trapped in the humiliation and inhumanity of sexual slavery-whether in Brazil, Uganda, Cameroon, or Tennessee. The song, which was another lyrical collaboration between David and Philip, explores the explores the polarizing politics of the day without being overtly political and features bluesy gang vocals and an instantly classic guitar riff.įinally, "Sunlight on Her Face" is a self-proclaimed "love song to a prostitute" where Remedy Drive juxtaposes imagery of Mary Magdalene with the reality of life as a sex slave. "Warlike," the album's heaviest rock track, finds David singing "the war criminal is myself" while searching out why exactly our culture has become so warlike. The song begins mournfully, evoking images of refugees escaping Turkey across the Aegean Sea to Greece, and turns into a plea for shelter with fast-driving rhythms and a soul-searching rap from Propaganda on the bridge.ĭespite these desires to inspire a change in what we spend our time on-or perhaps in lieu of them-Remedy Drive doesn't claim to have a monopoly on righteousness. Among the laments of war is "Sanctuary," a collaborative song written between David, Philip, and rapper Propaganda. The 12 songs on The North Star can be broken into two categories: songs lamenting war, slavery, and exile, and songs that act as a call for action. It's a more informed and more desperate form of hope." So the hope on The North Star is a bit more guarded and less simplistic than in the past. "I don't want to give the impression that I've turned away from hope, but I wrote these songs of hope, freedom, and refuge against a backdrop of war, slavery, and exile. "I almost feel like a fraud to have hope," David says, considering his relationship to hope in the context of his nine trips abroad with The Exodus Road. The David of The North Star has seen the darkness that is the inverse to the light he loves, and he knows now-intimately-that for some, hope is a luxury. This is not an album of gilded, naive faith. The North Star is rock music in its purest distillation, a return to the unsterilized, authentic roots of Remedy Drive's past. The album also includes guest appearances by singer-songwriter Rachael Lampa, and rapper Propaganda. Drummer Timmy Jones rejoins the band in studio and Corey Horn continues his seven-year partnership with David on tour as well as in the studio.
The North Star picks up where Commodity left off, continuing David's collaboration with Philip as producer and including new voices as well as old in the collective of musicians that has come to encompass Remedy Drive.
0 kommentar(er)
