Despite the advancements in technology available to music-making creatives, something that is affordable and freely available for the most part, we have actually become a more conformist artistic world rather than a more adventurous one. I would argue that with the arrival of synths and digital technology in the early eighties, those post-punk pioneers pushed things to their limits and created an explosion of genres through doing so – goth, shoegaze, darkwave, dream pop, synthwave, EDM and so on. Now, we use those now limitless technologies to merely create replicas of whatever the zeitgeist, the prevailing fad, and fashion dictate.
Sorry for the rambling introduction, but I feel as if, finally, we have found someone in Max Rael who is doing something different, something who is both an echo of those heady pioneering days and a deliberate avoidance of whatever everyone else is doing today. Although given that Max Rael is better known for being one-half of electro-goth trailblazers, History of Guns, it would seem that doing things differently has always been his modus operandi!
“Brighter Future” is an interesting piece, a spoken word statement that runs on an almost disco beat and is formed out of electronic dance grooves and gentle violin riffs, a few sonic textures as a backdrop, and little else. There is a sparseness which allows the lyrics to remain front and centre, which is important given their poignancy and almost philosophical nature.
But it is the overall message found here that is the important aspect. In 1977, Johnny Rotten may have told us there was no future. Max Rael sees the equivalent revolutionary act for today’s musician as suggesting optimism and offering hope in a world that often already thinks it is beyond such idealistic thoughts.
This single, a sonic candle to light the darkness, which is backed by the intriguingly named “The People We Love Have Won (Persistence Is All)” paves the way for his new album, The Enemy Is Us.
Bandcamp
Amazon Music
History of Guns ‘Half Light’ album
Spotify
History of Guns ‘Little Miss Suicide (2025)’ video
