While the timing of this release may seem like a reaction to the last election, it actually was originally put out in the band’s home of Quebec nearly three years ago, and only recently was released on American soil.
Knowing the Dears, and knowing Canadians in general you would assume that this record provides a Rage Against the Machine like anthem for protestors convening on the east coast these past few months. Upon giving the album (and the lyrics sheet) a closer look “Protest” serves of more a criticism on the protest mentality than any encouragement of such an act.
Perhaps pointing its finger at college kids bent on protesting anything to live up to their parents‚ radical histories, the album sings of protests organized on empty motivations, shouting for shouting’s sake. “Summer of Protest” the E.P.’s most dynamic track, is styled in a sort of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” for the Marx reading college kids. Cleverly backing up the monotone vocals is the screech of a megaphone, the annoying percussion of an unwanted protest. As the song goes on it reveals its own sarcasm in “Start up a revolution/ revolution for fools/revolution for fools.”
The four tracks comprising this album cleverly make a rock operetta, perhaps providing the needed soundtrack for the next WTO reaction. Clever, intricate, literate, and masterfully performed, would you really expect anything less from this Montreal sextet? |