httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42KNwQ6u42U
As gentle piano anchors a sparse, airy soundscape, frontman Jonathan Higgs sings the lines over and over in his inimitable falsetto, voice and message front and center.
It’s but a two-minute blip on an otherwise exuberant record, but it’s one that reflects Higgs’ headspace when writing A Fever Dream, the band’s most politically charged album to date.
“T is a sensation that the old rules don’t apply anymore,” says Higgs.
A Fever Dream finds the band-which also includes bassist Jeremy Pritchard and drummer Michael Spearman-reaching back to embrace childhood loves of both noisy guitar and electronic music.
It’s the lyrical content that sets A Fever Dream apart.
With lyrics like “I’m the richest/I’m the best of the apes,” or “The corridors of power are echoing with something for everyone/Nothing t for you and t’s nothing t for me,” A Fever Dream features distinct comment on the state of our world in the age of phenomena like Donald Trump and Brexit.
At the same time, with Higgs wanting some “Tenderness” on the album, A Fever Dream also features some of the most poignant songwriting of the band’s career.
“We try to end our records with a positive note, even if it’s just in the last two bars,” says Higgs.