Throughout time, music has fought against fascism, political corruption, war, and injustice. Giving the listener history lessons, thought-provoking lyrics, and an emotional connection to such issues. From Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On to Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, there have been many great albums that have become the soundtrack to a shift in political and social awareness. Elway’s most recent release, Nobody’s Going to Heaven, out now on Red Scare Industries, has the fervent social and political awareness for it to become one of the next anthems to change a broken society. Through history lessons and poetic musings, vocalist Tim Browne sings about the parallels of our past social and political challenges and today’s. Elway’s songwriting sensibility creates an atmosphere that makes the heaviness of each song accessible.
Nobody’s Going to Heaven’s first history lesson is at the start of the album with the track “Turner Joy.” This song is named after one of the eighteen Forest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy. This ship was one of two ships that were reportedly attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin incident that led to the United States becoming more involved in the Vietnam War. Though the first attack has been proven to be real, the second was a false flag, orchestrated to trick the American public and international community into supporting the United States’ involvement in the war. It is these sorts of atrocious lies that inspired Browne to give us this cautionary tale about what our government and military can and will do.
“That song was written to draw parallels between how a lie can be sold to the American public to try and galvanize public opinion into supporting an atrocity. How we see parallels of that throughout American history since World War II.” He continues, “We have modern-day analogs. It shows how easily people can be goaded into supporting monstrosities. Also, the counterculture in the sixties was quite a bit more physically present on the frontlines of protesting. But the boomers took a lot of victory laps as they let the United States political consciousness fade into modern neo-liberalism. Now we seem so disaffected and post-ironic that we use it as a shield, while literally doing nothing about our political situation. The song is a sort of admonition of myself.”
“Tuner Joy” sets the tone for the rest of the record’s sound and message. Giving us the sense that since we have turned a blind eye to what our leaders are doing, we have completely fucked ourselves. This message is what seemingly inspired the album’s title. “The end of that song talks about being born under the wire. Being born with little precious time left. We are at the apogee of the imperial boomerang, the end of history, and the critical mass for capitalism in the West. If we can take an honest look at what this has done to the world. We don’t really deserve for it to go any other way. I guess that is what’s meant by Nobody’s Going to Heaven. It’s that we fucked ourselves by allowing it to happen.”
The generational trauma caused by the deception and malevolence of our leaders has resulted in a collective indifference to the atrocities they commit. Elway explores this idea through the song “Laugh Track,” which starts on the day of the Invasion of Iraq and concludes twenty-two years later. Browne reflects on the similarities between the trauma of the Vietnam War and the Invasion of Iraq, and how his perspective has evolved over the years. “It’s weird to think back on that memory of the day that George W. Bush declared our intent to invade Iraq. And look at it from afar, now twenty-two years later. I think about how I have internalized that same sort of trauma or guilt as well. That it’s like a generational curse. Like being a hemophiliac in the royal family or inheriting your parents’ gambling debt.”
Although a majority of Nobody’s Going to Heaven speaks about the repercussions of governmental corruption and never-ending wars, there are positive affirmations hidden throughout. “Down the Lane and Far Away” is a song that does this by telling a story of being awash in a digital malaise. Yet, as you get to the end, it becomes a battle cry for all of us to reconnect with the natural world.
“We’ve allowed the world that we have built to bring us further away from the natural world. Further away from one another. In a way, further from ourselves,” Browne explains. “So the song is kind of like back to the theme of, ‘we’re not going to heaven. We don’t have much time left. So, with that time you have left, you should make the absolute most of what remains.’”
Throughout Nobody’s Going to Heaven, Elway has given us a message of outrage, disgust, and indignation towards our world leaders. Yet, there is an equally poignant message hidden within each song. That message is hope. A hope that whoever hears this record becomes actively involved and stands up against the heinous crimes of our leaders.
“I want people to stay vigilant and engaged and angry about politics. Outside of a new cycle. Permanently engaged.” Brown states, “I should hope that this record isn’t a timepiece that belongs to this particular era of American history. That it will make you think and become a more active observer.”
As the faint chirping of the Palestinian songbird finishes the record, we get a sense of the ultimate hope. A hope that goes beyond this album or any of our opinions or disagreements. This is a hope for peace. As Browne puts it, “The birds will have their say, so to speak. Finally.”
Nobody’s Going to Heaven is out now and you can order it from Red Scare Industries. Follow Elway on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for future updates.
Photo Credit: Tom May
