Washington DC-based Experimental-Pop architects, The North Country, recently released their latest single “Freaks” from their forthcoming album America and Afterwords, out this Summer. “Freaks” explores a wide array of emotion and independence and is something pop and electronic enthusiasts look to for a unique blend of both worlds. Their music is eclectic and each track contains a story that transports you into a different point of view. America and Afterwards is an honest look at the present and a hopeful look to the future. If the album can be summed up in one lyric, it is: “We gotta give up on the past and the ghosts that haunt this place. To make good on the future we gotta look the present in the face”. We never expected this to be our present, a global pandemic and economic recession. If our current situation tells us anything it is that there’s no going back to the way things were. The future we build must be radically different from the present and the past.
The focus of this funky-electro track came to life through the idea of being yourself in spite of social pressures and being defiant of those who would categorize you without your consent and put you in a box. It encourages you to be as unabashedly weird as you actually are on the inside. Being uncomfortable with yourself and worried about how you’re perceived by others can be a hard vice to break, especially at a time when social media teaches us to create a carefully curated persona. This track is the anthem of that journey. This unique song opens with the intro clavinet part that is a homage to the opening of Chaka Khan and Rufus song “Tell Me Something Good”. It’s also a reminder that love is more important than money or social status as lead singer Andrew Grossman sings, “When I die I want to be known, not by how much cash I have but how much I have loved.” The message of the North Country resonates now more than ever. We’re seeing people in the weight of this calamity responding with hope, responding with collaboration and support and love. Responding like future humans, also the name of the album’s first single, which dropped shortly before the pandemic struck. While there are dark themes throughout the album and criticisms of our society, there is also an earnest belief of what society can become when we rid ourselves of the forces that got Trump elected like racism, misogyny, and unchecked capitalism. You can follow The North Country and stay up-to-date with all upcoming news, as well as stream and purchase their music, via the following links:
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