The magnificent The Electorate – a firm favourite here in the dusty hallowed halls of the antipodean headquarters of Backseat Mafia – have followed up their earlier comeback single ‘Face of a Giant’ (their first release since the brilliant debut ‘You Don’t Have Time To Stay Lost‘ back in 2020) with the statuesque ‘Peace, Love & Kindness’.
Make no bones about it – the title is a plea to humanity after to a terrible, terrible year, inspired by the criminally embarrassing No vote in the constitutional referendum last year to give the First Nations people in Australia a constitutional voice, as well as world conflicts that will go unnamed. Singer/Guitarist Josh Morris says:
The first line of this song should have been ‘I wanted to cry on referendum night’, because that was exactly how I felt. A profound loss and disappointment in a nation I thought was kinder than it has proven to be. Roll that frustration into the horrors of Gaza, Ukraine, and the other wars raging that we simply get used to, and I remembered how easy it was to crawl under the comforting blanket of cynicism.”
The lyrics are raw and emotive:
I want to just live in hope
Ignore the ignorant joke
Decency isn’t woke
Why is that so hard to do
To find a common value?
Equality’s nothing new
The music, as always, is crips and crystalline – crunchy, jangling guitars etching out scaling riffs with Morris’s deep sonorous vocals that launch into a cinematic rousing chorus with a delicious frisson of harmonies. I can’t help but think of Nick Lowe’s’s classic song (made famous by Elvis Costello & the Attractions), ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) With Peace, Love and Understanding’ and I’m sure there’s a deliberate nod to that track, without any irony but with added passion. Morris adds:
This song is my active attempt to reverse that cynicism and embrace hope as a naive act of defiance against the shit-show of ignorance and intolerance. To harness hope and turn it into small, common acts of decency, tolerance and kindness. Jam the static of those trying to divide us. Be kind. At the end of the day, this is just an indie pop song with no answers and one question – what is so wrong with peace love and kindness?
Ultimately, The Electorate prove they have an ability to write what is in effect a rallying cry in dark times – an openly political statement calling for tolerance and love that rails against the current Zeitgeist. And to do it wrapped in such a crunchy delicious pop song is all the more impressive.
I’ll gladly join the barricades with this on my lips. ‘Peace, Love & Kindness’ is out today and can be downloaded and streamed through the link above and here.
The track comes off the band’s forthcoming album ‘By Design’ due out in late May with the legendary Wayne Connolly (Underground Lovers) at the helm on production.
Of course The Electorate were almost single handedly responsible for the development of my theory of the Marrickville Sound – experienced musicians with an impeccable history forming to produce some the best indie music around. The band has members of bands including the Templebears, Big Heavy Stuff, The Apartments and Atticus amongst others. Creativity has no use-by date.
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