Songs with political or social agendas are tricky animals.
Divorce your possible personal animus from the issue for a moment and ask yourself what Neil Young’s “Ohio” means to someone born, let’s say, between 1998 and 2002? Nothing, unless they have an interest in history. It’s just a guitar riff now. Its one-time call to storm the ramparts is now Dad Rock, Circa Nixon, and stoned.
Why?
It’s too specific. No eighteen-year-old today cares about Richard Nixon, and they’re even less worried about his pending arrival foretold in Neil Young’s lyrics. However, politically, or socially driven songs can remain relevant for years if the subject stays near the forefront and if they write in such a way that the lyrics boast timeless qualities. The new single “In God We Trust” from Tennessee Backwater meets that standard. It’s an avowal of faith and reaffirms time-tested human virtues.
It benefits from a compositional style that embraces the value of a gradual but dramatic build. Tennessee Backwater steps up the song’s intensity in measured increments, milking moments for everything they are worth, and the vocals adapt to the needed emotional range. The song sounds like it has a fluid emotional range that Tennessee Backwater would never play or sing the same way twice.
The straightforward messaging of the lyrics will have its detractors. The unabashed courage Tennessee Backwater displays in writing and releasing this song, as well as filming a near-defiant music video, demands your respect. There’s no mass-produced music emanating from these musicians. The statement of personal values that “In God We Trust” makes for listeners cannot be second-guessed, and its gripping language works well with the elevated style.
There is a lot of pomp and circumstance. There is ample reason to say that, as a song, “In God We Trust” is a blowhard. Cynics will hear a band pandering in light of President-elect Trump’s imminent return to the White House. Open minds and ears will hear a group of musicians/vocalists fully invested in this single and delivering solid early performances that Tennessee Backwater’s contemporaries could match.
Many listeners will appreciate the mock theatrics. “In God We Trust” is trying to rouse your passions, but it never stoops to cheap pandering. There’s definite talent and a surprising amount of nuance that goes into making a song such as this memorable fare. The instinct for keeping things succinct is important. “In God We Trust” has something important to say without ever sounding self-important and overstaying their welcome with listeners.
Crisp and well-balanced production is another strength of “In God We Trust”. The polished sonic texture and attention to detail throughout the arrangement never risk neutering the impressively live sound that the song achieves. Tennessee Backwater’s video, mentioned earlier, will be the crowning touch for many. It is assertive without ever coming across as unintentionally comical or otherwise obnoxious. You can see the same commitment manifest visually that’s present in the music, and it isn’t often you can say that about the pairing. Everything comes together in a memorable way for Tennessee Backwater’s “In God We Trust”.
Chadwick Easton