As we reach the end of the year, there are a few albums I need to highlight that either came to me too late to make my end of year lists or I just overlooked earlier for some reason or another.
Despite what their name tells you, Glasgow based band, The Musicians of Bremen, ended the year by releasing the second part of their double header debut album Resilience, having released part one, Intolerance, earlier in the year. Like the Brothers Grimm tale from whence they get their name, their wish would be to rid us of al the thieves and liars, particularly the ones that run the country/world…
The two album title could be buzzwords for recent years as we see society split even further and intolerances increasing from both side of the divide, some of these intolerances entirely despicable created through the rise of the right (a particular visceral response to Brexit at the end of the album “We Voted NO” leaving you in no doubt where the band stands) and incompetent lying governments on both sides of the Atlantic while other intolerances totally understandable as the rest of us rail against hate, racism, homophobia, xenophobia and bigotry.
Resilience is something that we have all had to pull on our reserves for in the wake of the above and as a result of changes in our lifestyles forced upon us by global pandemics and government restrictions.
Intolerance
The music across these two albums reflect their titles perfectly, Intolerance is brimming with a visceral brio, vocals seething over instruments that crash and clamour creating an intense feeling of unfettered crushing anger. Right from off on Awakening there is a rage that the hope innocence of a child will be ripped from them and trampled on from an early age.
The levels of fury and bitterness rise and fall through these nine songs Breathe seemingly incredulous that “no one seems happy but you never hear talk of change”. The incredulity at it all reaches its apex on the closing title song of Intolerance, an explosion of all the exasperation and vexation that has been stewing through the eight songs up until then erupts in a tempestuous ball of festering rabid propulsive energy, the lyrics spat out with a screaming urgency. The lid is well and truly blown off the boiling pot of frustration as the lyrics rant that we “can’t let prejudice prevail” and “why are we not appalled by war… we should be tearing down the government gates”.
Resilience
None of that passion is lost on Resilience, there is still an intense dissatisfaction in the state of the world, take the Pearl Jam-esque One Hundred Years for example, where the lyrics bemoan that with the likes of the KKK and Islamic State, in so many ways, we have never moved on from he time of the Crusades. However, where on Intolerance the rage was palpable, on Resilience, here is a control on this anger, using it to direct action in the right direction, fuelling our resilience and ultimate behaviours.
There is a four song sequence at the end of Resilience that tells the whole story of the album for me- a journey from birth to death – starting with the tender understated beauty of Little Human describing a determination to protect your child at all costs. Wing It immediately follows this and displays a sense of desperation in its crashing guitars and thunderous rhythm section underlying the overwrought lyrics “How can I tell her that things will get better when I don’t believe that these words even matter”.
Hope and despair mix like unsettled bedfellows in the rattling title track Resilience with an ominous arrangement and lyrics despairing that we haven’t done enough to make a difference “I’ve done nothing, we’ve all done nothing”, ultimately the apocalyptic nature of the music starts to dissipate and leaves you with a hopeful feeling that we can’t stop trying and we maybe just can make a difference…
This leads effectively into the final song of the collection, the enigmatically titled, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, and that feeling of hope through resilience is sealed with some mantras – “I will refuse to have regrets” – “Let him be content you did all that you could, to treasure that time” – “I will make you proud” – all soundtracked by a graceful and uplifting melody that just leaves you with a a nagging doubt as it fades to a close.
The two halves of Intolerance and Resilience come together perfectly, the apoplectic rage and unabashed confusion about the state of the world and humanity displayed in the intensity of Intolerance tamed and caged, brought under control and pushed into hopeful positivity in Resilience.
Just a final thought, if you like The Musicians of Bremen, you should check out Def Robot I think you’d be similarity impressed.