Photo Credit: mattpless.bandcamp.com
Matt Pless is an alternative folk artist who has composed several insightful socially conscious tunes. He has previously been involved with the Occupy Wall Street Movement and he is considered the inspiration behind the 2012 compilation, Occupy This Album.
“When the Frayed Wind Blows” is off Pless 2017 album, Catch Me If You Can. The tune is an epic scathing examination of current social ills. It addresses a range of issues including political corruption, capitalism and for-profit prisons (“To keep the jails and prisons full/diamond pockets lined with profits / Earned from broken lives”).
The tune also addresses religious hypocrisy and how religion is used to “justify injustices and centuries of genocide.” This resonates when you have individuals in the current Trump administration using the Bible to try to excuse US border officials separating children from their parents.
The song serves as a reminder that “we’re watching history repeatin.'” Failure to learn from history is part of the problem. Hopefully, this is the generation that learns these lessons before it is too late.