Dropped on the 21st of July, ‘What’s Going On’, from Matthew Squires & Sunk Coast, asks the questions that need to be asked.
On the surface, ‘What’s Going On’ feels humorous, starting out with lines about Moses playing golf with the pharaoh, and Abraham Lincoln’s dog being dead, but it’s not long before you realise it goes a bit deeper than that. References to “Jeffrey” (Epstein), Donald Trump, and Uber Eats turn the humour right around and make this a protest song – and given it shares its title with Marvin Gaye’s great protest song – so it should be.
At just over 3 and a half minutes long, ‘What’s Going On’ gets listeners thinking about their significance in the world, and to consider if we’re making any difference, or if we are merely pawns in a rich man’s game. It all feels hopeless. Mount Rushmore, the tribute to some of the greatest presidents of the United States, means nothing if it’s only made of jello.
But life must continue, and as Squires himself puts it, “someone has to be there when the world ends, it might as well be you”.
Squires’ voice is laid back and filled with a sound of despair, but it’s perfectly suited to the instrumental style of the song, which borrows from the psychedelic sounds of the 60s. We could all turn on, tune in, and drop out (with some acid we’ve got from the shopping mall), or, like Matthew Squires, ask “what’s going on” and do something about it.
‘What’s Going On’ is part of Matthew Squires & Sunk Coast’s new album, ‘Easy Answers To Harder Questions’, which was released on the 24th of June. Stream and download it here. You can find out more about Matthew Squires & Sunk Coast and their music online on Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify.