Unless you’ve been living under a rock, times are tough all around. No matter where you look, mounting crises dominate the headlines. It’s enough to make you wonder whether anyone’s really in charge or if we’re all at the mercy of calamitous fate. U.K. based singer-songwriter Ben Dalby ponders about the state of affairs on his latest single, “Season Of The Knife.” On this alt-rock airing of grievances, there’s no easy solution to what ails us all.
On “Season Of The Knife,” Dalby does not dance around the collective mess we find ourselves in. Whether he is referencing empty shelves, melting glaciers, pollution or rising sea levels, there’s no diminishing the totality of the situation. In turn, a blunt lyricism is lobbed over “closed borders,” calling the powers that be “bent.” All of this culminates in a semi-menacing Dalby referring to our times as the “season of the knife.”
On top of the foreboding lyrical theme, there is a subtly intimidating melody that helps to increase the gravity of everything weighing the world down. Embracing the moment, Dalby gives off a slow burn vibe in the face of the mountain of madness that we are living in. “Season Of The Knife” could have easily been a rage against the system level of defiance. Instead, Dalby takes a brooding, passive aggressive approach that accepts the whole ball of wax for what it is.
“You’re on your own now. Ready or not.” This is one of the parting messages Dalby leaves with. On “Season Of The Knife,” it is rather clear that he wants us to know that we, the people, will be the change we want to see in the world. If you’re waiting for a politician, big business or a billionaire with a God complex to save the day, you’ll be waiting awhile. Dalby’s “Season Of The Knife” is an anthem for a collapsing world and the people that have to sift through it.
Written by Travis Boyer
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