GOSHEN, Ind. — It’s no secret that technology can be hard to avoid these days — we need it for work, for fun, for school, even for talking to our family. It should come as no surprise then that a generation raised in the digital age might fear that “we’re all machines,” just as HAPPY LANDING does. In their new single, “Machines,” the band presents a haunting reflection on being young in America wrapped up in the energy of a folk rock beat. What a good representation of what it feels like to be in your 20s.
Despite the noise and color we have grown up with on our devices, including the promises of how they will make everything better and bring people together, this isn’t what we have experienced. As the lyrics put it, “dark days are all I’ve ever known.” That could be the impending threat of environmental catastrophe, the decline in the economy and job market, the rising global tensions leading to more and more war, or even the increasing threats on our privacy from big tech companies. Sorry to get dark, but it’s a dark song.
However, HAPPY LANDING’s intentions become more clear when you look beyond the lyrics to the music itself. While the lyrics can feel defeated, as though it’s already too late, the choice to combine folk and rock styles speak to a hopefulness at the core of the song. In combining two historic protest genres, they produce a song that begs the listener to take notice. “We are all machines” transforms from a frustrated resolution to the “scream” they mention — stop this, before it does become true. Even as our screens try to distract us from the truth, we cannot forget — we are more than machines.
– Kate Bodiker, Globe Pal
Each week, a Globe-pal (AKA a DJ at 91.1 the Globe) uploads a review of a Globe track that is sent out and posted on globeradio.org/music. The Globe Track of the Week is proudly presented by 91.1 the Globe, the best college radio station in Indiana.
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