Thursday, September 1, 2016

“War” by The Balconies – A Song Review

     While attempting to collect post-2000 songs to refute the assertion that all the best politically aware songs were writing before 1975, “War” stood out in the search results. The song by The Balconies didn’t fit in the collection, despite its question, “Can we afford another war?” The song is more about a personal battle, and less about a political one. But it’s not entirely removed from the topic. According to Jacquie Neville of The Balconies:
   We wanted to depict how Western culture's forced ideologies and criticism impact the mind. What seemed to be a battle between the self and society has now evolved into the battle with oneself.”

     “War” is a well-blended collection of attractive features, including the percussion at the outset and strong guitar throughout. But the strength of the song are the group chants.
     The Balconies are based in Ottawa, but have roots in Toronto, Canada. The members are Jacquie Neville (guitar, vocals), Steve Neville (bass, vocals), and Liam Jaeger (guitar, vocals).
     “War” will be among the tracks on the upcoming album, “Rhonda,” which is due for release on October 14, 2016.

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