The UK-born existential rock band Arthur Gun shoots us with a little something dystopian and counter-culture thought provoking with their very recent EP release Low Plains Wanderer. Forming in 2012, the band released their first EP, Here Out West, which introduced us to their political, post-modern tongue-in-cheek brand of alternative rock. A year later, they released another single entitled ”Poor Human”, continuing to give us that psychedelic anti-conformist protest that was thought to have been left in ’60s rock. With their latest three-track album, AG embarks further upon this trip of modern angst and nihilistic artistry.
Though it isn’t a very long track listing, it is still a significant enough listen, very worthy of your earbuds and speakers. The opening track ”Low Plains Wanderer” gives us a psychedelic groove to bob our heads to while lead singer/lyricist Jack croons about a dark and not-so-distant future. ”24-Hour News (View From Down Here)” slows down the tempo and seemingly creates a slow montage of monotonous mediocrity (phew! Gotta love the alliteration!) continuously leading to the downward slope of human existence. While this sort of imagery can be seen as depressing, if you are socially and politically aware of what goes on around you, a close listening of the lyrics will generate a cognitive understanding of what message the music is trying to convey: right now, the way we live and have been perpetually been living is shitty and it’s been time to make a change for the better. ”False Flags”, my personal favorite, is reminiscent of the folk music that was made by the likes of Bob Dylan and John Lennon; the lyrics, while dreamy at some parts, are all around sharp as a razor in referencing the reality we currently inhabit. From the random violence that sparks through the mass shootings that have taken place in America and wars ignited all over the globe to the stagnant politics that continuously halt progress, this song will definitely make you want to fight the machine, both politically and intellectually.
I think a lot of lovers of folk rock, alternative and psychedelic-that-escaped the ’60s will truly appreciate this band’s style. And fellow unofficial philosophy students like myself who dig this sort of music will continue to play this EP, taking in some the best music while possible awaiting the worst the world has to offer.
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— Simone Brown
