Vic Moissis’s new track, “Fire and Steel,” makes two really interesting points. By that, I don’t mean via the story he is pushing through the lyrics, but a couple of poignant and important additional considerations thrown up just by the song’s existence.
Firstly, we get so used to music made in a modern, western style, particularly when a song takes a turn into political, social and historical realms, being about the USA or the UK or of a holistic and global nature, that when a song, like this, comes along, it reminds us of just how much passes us by thanks to the way global news and information works. Here, the subject is that of a Greek railway tragedy, and the song is both a tribute to the memory of the victims of the Tempi Train Crash, hence the date in the title, and a call for justice in their name. For most reading this review or listening to this song, it will be the first time they have heard of the incident.
And on a sonic level, it also reminds us too of how many artists get bogged down by the rules and regulations of existing genres. Vic Moissis is happy to blur the lines, hop across generic divides, and storm the barricade’s musical tradition, blending hip-hop and rock, ambient flows and deft and dexterous vocal salvos, sweet pop harmonies, and raw sonics.
It’s a great song, even without such additional considerations. Still, when you add in its ripping up of the generic rule book and its ability to shift the center of the news cycle away from its usual mid-Atlantic focus, the song becomes important on so many unexpected levels too.
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