{"id":2144,"date":"2021-07-10T12:41:35","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T11:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/?p=2144"},"modified":"2021-07-10T12:46:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T11:46:29","slug":"holding-on-to-hope-a-review-of-fire-by-non-essential-workers-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/holding-on-to-hope-a-review-of-fire-by-non-essential-workers-new\/","title":{"rendered":"Holding on to hope: A Review of FIRE by Non-Essential Workers (n.e.w.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first minute of the second music video by non-essential workers (n.e.w.)<\/strong><\/a> gives you the impression that you\u2019re in for a dark synth-pop ride into an unnamed dystopia in the not-too-distant future, not very different to their previous single.\u00a0In similar fashion to \u201cPeople\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, the lyrics for \u201cFIRE\u201d<\/em><\/strong> quickly let you know that the band has more social commentary to make:<\/span><\/h4>\n

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We\u2019ll trip the wire now
\n<\/b>When the moon comes up tonight
\n<\/b>We\u2019ll get to howlin\u2019 now
\n<\/b>At the beasts roamin\u2019 the streets tonight
\n<\/b>Cause they\u2019re the cowards now
\n<\/b>Creeping out of shadows trying to pick a fight
\n<\/b>We lit their fires how?
\n<\/b>By refusin\u2019 to give up our own rights<\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][nk_text]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NeO6RRLQBP4[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” full_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1625312457269{padding-top: 25px !important;background-image: url(https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/new_fire_Krakow-Music_01.jpg?id=2150) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1625312168786{padding-top: 175px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][nk_block_quote icon_color=”#ffffff” text_color=”#ffffff”]<\/p>\n

The reference is to ongoing social unrest throughout the world and it seems that no major country has been spared, so listeners throughout the world can easily relate to the band\u2019s message. The song doesn\u2019t seem to be making a call to action, rather it is a call for hope and optimism, as dark and troublesome as the times may be.<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n

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Instead of riding out the dystopian synth-wave vibe the songs starts out with, however, the listener is given a bit of a surprise, at least in terms of vocal style, as we get to hear the unique voice of featured singer Molus in the song\u2019s chorus. In it, he encourages us not to give up hope and to persevere through these dark times:<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Hold on to your Fire
\n<\/b>Hold on to the Night
\n<\/b>Hold on to the Wire
\n<\/b>Hold on till it\u2019s Light<\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

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It\u2019s quite a catchy chorus and blends well with the rest of the song, nicely contrasting the lead vocalist\u2019s soft-spoken rap about the issues society is facing with coronavirus in the background, without actually mentioning it. If you\u2019ve been paying attention to current events throughout the world, the references made here are rather clear.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Yeah their hate is injustice,
\n<\/b>their mandate to crush us,
\ncoz of the colors among us
\n<\/b>is the death knell of progress,
\nyet they can\u2019t stop our protest,
\n<\/b>we stand arm in arm till the first light<\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][nk_text]<\/p>\n

The reference is to ongoing social unrest throughout the world and it seems that no major country has been spared, so listeners throughout the world can easily relate to the band\u2019s message. The song doesn\u2019t seem to be making a call to action, rather it is a call for hope and optimism, as dark and troublesome as the times may be. Throughout the song I am reminded of Ulver\u2019s Flowers of Evil<\/em> album<\/a><\/span>, as it also has a dark, synthy flavor throughout, but Molus\u2019 R&B style takes the song in a different direction, particularly towards the end, as we hear a more forceful rap blended with the smooth crooning of Molus. Here we are reminded again of our collective hardships but also that things will improve:<\/span><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][nk_text]<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so hard to take
\n<\/b>It\u2019s so hard to fake
\n<\/b>It\u2019s so hard we break
\n<\/b>Then we\u2019re on our way<\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s so hard this place
\n<\/b>No more safe space
\n<\/b>It\u2019s so hard to face
\n<\/b>Another perfect day<\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

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Overall the song is a pretty accurate reflection of where we currently stand as a society. There are a lot of troubling situations taking place and it seems like we\u2019ve been in a very long winter with lockdowns finally being eased and life returning to our cities. There certainly are many things to be hopeful about, despite the abundance of negativity around us. Holding on until it\u2019s light is some welcoming advice as we move forward.<\/span><\/h4>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=”2174″ img_size=”large”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The music video of “FIRE” by non-essential workers (n.e.w.) gives you the impression that you\u2019re in for a dark synth-pop ride into an unnamed dystopia in the not-too-distant future. The band has more social commentary to make. Listen and watch the video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Holding on to hope: A Review of FIRE by Non-Essential Workers (n.e.w.) | Krak\u00f3w Music","_seopress_titles_desc":"The music video of "FIRE" by non-essential workers (n.e.w.) gives you the impression that you\u2019re in for a dark synth-pop ride into an unnamed dystopia in the not-too-distant future. The band has more social commentary to make. Listen and watch the video.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[33],"tags":[287,286,96,284,285],"class_list":["post-2144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-reviews","tag-dystopia","tag-fire","tag-non-essential-workers","tag-single","tag-synth-pop"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-02 12:39:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2144"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2187,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144\/revisions\/2187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}