It is great to see music makers remembering the power of their craft. We have gone through a period when many artists and bands, even as the world got darker and less caring, were happy to tell bland little stories and not rock the boat. That is something that seems to be changing, and more and more artists are lifting their voices in reaction to the injustices and attitudes that are becoming ever more prevalent.
But some songs are written in reaction to more timeless issues, and those on Permission To Speak come from a very specific place. Songwriter Zora McDonald is fighting back against the sad reality that women of a certain age become less visible, and rather than bow to the social pressure to become more demure or less outspoken, this album is an act of defiance. It is the sound of someone allowing themselves to be who they are, to act how they want, someone giving themselves permission not only to speak… but to speak up. And boy, does she!
And if the name Dryadic stands for music with meaning, it also stands for fun. “Can’t Keep Up” has a wonderful gypsy jive meets reggae-esque groove, the violin soaring and swooning elegantly and eloquently through this web of bass, guitar, and piano. “Redevelop our Souls” makes a stance for greater understanding and empathy and love, the things that hold our communities together, increasingly important as authoritarianism tries to change us, bend us to their will.
“Smiling in the Dark” is a love song, celebrating the simple pleasures in life, namely love and companionship, “Mansplain” kicks back at those men who feel the need to tell a “mere woman” the way the world works, a jaunty little jig with a kick arse message and “Not My Government” is…well, it does what it says on the tin.
Dryadic is one of those bands that we used to bracket as “back of a Transit Van, cider-festival, anarcho-folk”, I know, I was in one or two myself. And as clumsy as such a phrase is, it still perfectly sums up the band – their attitude and world view, their agit-prop lyrics and their ability to rally and relate to those who similarly don’t conform to fad and fashion, mainstream lifestyle and social expectations. What such a sound bite doesn’t convey is the band’s depth and delicacy, their deftness and dexterity, and if we want to take things at face value, their ability to get the party started. (Something I have witnessed as they wandered conga-like around a pub, upright bass and all, still playing, still singing, still smiling.)
Definitely a band that can make you feel and make you think!
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