by Jonathan Bannister (@j_utah)
How the hell are any of us supposed to feel these days? These last few months have been an emotional rollercoaster. This phrase itself has become an oft repeated mantra these past few years. What began with everyone sheltering in place has become a call for everyone to march in the streets. While the pandemic still rages on, people try to stop the equally deadly police, putting their lives on the line to try and finally end their tyrannical rule. They are times that feel both hopeless and hopeful. Will any of it actually change? Can this moment be the actual wake up call to correct course?
“And it might be hopeless, but if I lose hope, I bring on that ending.” So sings Cable Ties’ Jenny McKechnie on the song “Hope”. At the start of the quarantine/shelter in place orders anxiety and worry were really high. Would you or the people you love going to get sick and not recover, so many people losing their jobs, the complete inability of our elected officials to both care enough to do anything and be competent enough to do anything meaningful. Some songs (and albums) are heard exactly when you need to hear them, even if that time might be five am, laying in bed at the tail end of a restless night with no sleep thanks to that ever growing anxiety, listening to that song on repeat, crying and dancing in bed, pounding your chest, grieving and letting go of all of it.
“Hope” can rightly be called an anthem. A song that feels like it was written yesterday as a direct response to all that is going on around us. While this of course isn’t the case (the album came out March 27), it's a testament to what they were tapping into that will make this a timeless piece of music. Climate change, the destruction brought on by capitalism, and all these other issues plaguing our countries make it so. How does one fight back? It’s so easy to shrug your shoulders and say nothing will ever change. To pontificate at the end of the bar, drink in hand, while patting ourselves on the back for knowing what’s really going on. “So let your eyes roll, you'll still be cool when we're in flames” McKechnie sings. It’s tempting to just print out the entire lyrics as each line hits a personal specific feeling. It’s an absolute stunner of an album opener and one that will be played in steady rotation throughout the rest of the year and beyond. Whenever a boost or pick-me-up is required.
Across the rest of the album, Far Enough contains rallying cries against power, gatekeepers, cynicism, greed, and all the other obstacles that attempt to wear and beat people down till they’re too exhausted to fight back. It’s all housed in thick, driving bass lines, quick, steady drums, and stabbing guitar work. It’s punk rock music that is still incredibly catchy and hook laden. Seriousness in the message doesn’t always have to be abrasive in the music. It provides the outlet to move and dance and release all that tension and energy in healthy constructive ways. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown do impressive work as the rhythm section, providing a strong foundation for McKechnie’s guitar work and lyrics.
Time will tell if this movement can sustain its momentum and carry through to some lasting effect. At least there are albums like Far Enough to provided that second wind, that boost when it feels like too much of a struggle, when the chips are down. Dance it out and then get back out there.