Bands always used to be akin to localised sonic gangs: groups of friends or like-minded individuals who came together in a very physical sense to make noise, make music, and make a point. Technology has changed the nature of what a band can be, and file-sharing connectivity means that a song can be written without the band members ever setting foot in the same room, in the same country, or even on the same continent.
Blindness & Light is a brilliant example of this, an informal and extended gathering of musicians spread from Anglesey to Yorkshire and even having contributors as far away as Japan and Argentina.
“Just A Few Milligrams,” their new single, once again leans into the poppier fringes of post-punk, but it also finds a buoyancy and drive that are totally in keeping with modern indie, too. Some sounds never really go out of fashion, I guess. Colin Potter’s guitars lilt and dance, Mel Dopazo and Glenn Welman’s engine room of bass and beat, respectively, are unfussy and wonderfully effective, and Helen Reynolds once again adds some ethereal vocals to the more worldly delivery. The result is accessible, infectious, and imaginative.
But perhaps the most important aspect of the song is the message. As soon as you hear the lyrics, its anti-racism stance is unmissable, and a welcome addition to the growing voices in the arts that are standing up to the rising wave of authoritarianism and fascist views that are once more crawling out from their hiding places, emboldened, enriched, and enabled by a wave of populist leaders around the world.
And the song title? Well, it is a reference to the pigment melanin, which defines skin colour; the difference between one perceived race and another is only a few milligrams of this in our genetic makeup. It makes you wonder why anyone thinks that this small drop of biological material is worth such anguish and tragedy.
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