From the pulsing swirling synth-based initial notes of PEOPLE’s doom-filled opening, a muffled reprimanding voice talks of instability, change and civil unrest. The dystopian refrain taunts forebodingly at our folly; it is an uncertain and unfamiliar future that awaits, but one that could have been prevented:

The People Running
From the Fires coming
To burn us once again

I love the hook of the opening. When the song actually kicks in around 48 seconds in, it’s exciting and visceral for the listener as any good opening should be. The snare’s tight 80s-style resonance, the minimal bass-heavy guitar tone high up in the mix with its killer lick and the keys floating somewhere in the middle remind me of a few classic songs from 1983’s seminal New Wave Tears for Fears album – The Hurting. The double-tracked vocals with the nice interplay of harmonies are up there with the best of Messrs Orzabal and Smith. Even though it might wear its past influences proudly, PEOPLE remains firmly lyrically rooted in the turmoil of 2020, making it all the more relevant and contemporary.  It probes and prods, menacingly reflecting on the personal, social and political upheaval of our current times, where we find ourselves standing on the edge of an abyss, part of a society whose foundations have been rocked by a pandemic, unhinged leaders and mass protest. The lyrics’ honest candour and the dark mood they conjure is offset cleverly by the upbeat melodic music and this really does work in the song’s favour. After all, who doesn’t want the more unpleasant subjects in life packaged in a pleasant and hummable form? Yes, we crave art and music as social commentary, but we also want some escape from life during the isolation and anxiety of COVID 19.

The shadows of our former selves
Projected upon empty shelves
Panic in the checkout line
Come too close and pay the fine

I am less keen on the rap-like elements that intersperse the song and the decorative vocoder parts in the CODA, but it is always the wry and cutting narrative that dominates – irrespective of form – and rightly so. The song is uncompromising and a clear rebuke to our collective disinterest, our broken political system, our narcissism, our addiction to consumerism and technology and our individual responsibility for leaving a dying planet to future generations. 

Though time it somehow marches on
We hear the ticking of its bomb
Yet we still refuse to diffuse it
Buy a plastic bag reuse it

These are not easy accusations to bear but there is a note of hope. Perhaps if we can get off the lure of social media and stop feeling sorry for ourselves, then that misplaced energy can be transformed into something more life-affirming, creative. Maybe it will be the catalyst for the change that eventually saves us. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that, yes, we need to look after ourselves, but we also need to look after each other – our neighbours, the elderly, the vulnerable. We must move away from the vacuous self-obsession of our pre-COVID lives. 

You can’t be helpless when you’re helping
Eat humble pie then another helping

PEOPLE is irrefutably a call to action, selflessness, philanthropy. We can demand change from our leaders but we must also strive to change ourselves. The time for mere words has passed. The song is an ultimatum to both a pre- and post-COVID society: can we rise up to this challenge in a world of unfettered greed and self interest?  N.e.w. unequivocally think we can. I agree, for this is our legacy and how future generations will judge us. Failure is not an option.

Stronger Together we’ll stop this evil
Stem the tide and chase that steeple
Fuck the System of endless refills

We’ll rise again, Yes we the People!