It’s an odd title for a song that is simultaneously so big and brilliantly anthemic, grand and so obviously politically charged. But once you understand that the titular fruit, which shares the same three colors as the Palestinian flag, has long been used as an alternative symbol of resistance in the face of the censorship and suppression of that country by Israel, it makes perfect sense.
The song’s blend of considered lyricism and pummelling onslaught, mathy-arabesque motifs, and cries for help is an emotive sonic and poetic image of Gaza, saying more in its three-minute run than your average activist and politician ever could in their lengthy proclamations. Perhaps it might also act as a timely reminder to other bands that the platform they have been afforded is the perfect way of spreading ideas and opinion… that rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, punk and the like, all happened for a reason…because people had something to say.
But “Watermelon” is not just raising awareness for the horrors being perpetrated in Palestine, in general, and Gaza, in particular; it is also the first single from their soon-to-follow album. Although the importance of that does seem to be the lesser of the two stories here. Sorry.
But, of course, the argument is that if The Zaramutas can release a song this potent, this powerful, and this poignant, imagine what they can do across the space of a whole album. Then again, you don’t have to guess; last year’s Censored proved to be a collection made at the cutting edge, a place where grit and groove dance deftly and decisively.
And so, this gateway single does its job brilliantly. After all, whatever aspect finds you caught under the band’s spell – lyrical message, awareness-raising, industrial weight, songwriting prowess, sonic juxtaposition – I can’t imagine there will be many who will listen to this record and not want to know more, not want to carry on the sonic journey, not want to buy the new album.
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