Dystopian Future Movies Post “Critical Mass” Video
On the record, the melancholic build of “Critical Mass” follows guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Caroline Cawley‘s short story recitation “She From Up the Drombán Hill,” and with a switch from third to first-person point of view, “Critical Mass” takes on the voice of its central character, a young woman — a “…comfortable learned woman, a competent speller” — who gets pregnant out of wedlock in very-Catholic Ireland and is sent away to a common shame and death not actually of her own making, though naturally the blame would’ve been hers. Cawley, responsible for the craft at root in Dystopian Future Movies and the emotive performance that drives the band’s 2022 album, War of the Ether (review here), explores this theme with sadness, an unflinching eye, due judgment and depth of perspective. Like the title-track and others surrounding, “Critical Mass” is heavy well before it actually gets loud.
What allows for that is atmosphere, of course. As might be hinted by an album that builds up its introduction around nine minutes of spoken storytelling, words are important on War of the Ether, and that holds for “Critical Mass” as well, but Dystopian Future Movies set that narrative to a sound that has grown capable across now-three-LPs to encompass aspects of downer heavy indie and goth-ish melodic pull — if you can take Crippled Black Phoenix‘s oppressive-sky modus, the mood here resonates similarly — as well as noise rock, atmospheric sludge metal and in the later reaches of “No Matter,” a flourish of guitar float that is more clear-eyed than heavygaze but brings some ethereal sense to War of the Ether just the same. As noted when it was being released, Cawley took inspiration from the scandal surrounding Tuam Mother and Baby Home in Ireland, where nearly 800 dead bodies were discovered of the pregnant women who went and the children they birthed there. Perhaps with this frame it’s inevitable War of the Ether would hit hard, but again, its impact is in more than just its volatile pieces.
Dystopian Future Movies — in which Cawley is joined by Bill Fisher, Marty Fisher and Rafe Dunn — played this past weekend at Masters of the Riff III in Hackney, performing alongside Elephant Tree, The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, and scores of others. Two more UK fests are locked in for this Spring in Leeds and Bradford, about which you can see more in the info that follows the clip below. One last note to mention that the lyrics to “Critical Mass” also appear under the video player. I don’t always post lyrics with whatever might be streaming on a given day, but I think the relevance in this instance makes it appropriate. If it throws you off visually or whatever, I apologize. I assure you it made sense to me at the time, which is right now, as it happens.
Please enjoy:
Dystopian Future Movies, “Critical Mass” official video
From the album ‘War of the Ether’ out on Septaphonic Records
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Video by Zorad
Music by Dystopian Future Movies
Recorded by Bill Fisher at XII Chambers Nottingham England
Produced by Dystopian Future Movies
Mastered by Lira Wish at Film-Maker Studios
‘War of the Ether’ Art & Design by Rafe & Zorad
Dystopian Future Movies live:
StrangeForms Festival – Brudenell, Leeds 6th – 7th April
Ruination Festival 2024 – Underground, Bradford 11th May
TICKET LINKS: https://dystopianfuturemovies.com/events
“Critical Mass” lyrics:
Looking back it’s clear to know I should have lied
So ashamed to admit that now, I didn’t even try
In a land that is so drenched in weeping, I know that I’m alone
When a hand that should heal is tormented to steal and corrupting your mind
Where is love, where is love and I should go
Where is love, where is love and I could go
Only in retrospect can we blame the time
And that seems but a weakened stance when it mars entire lives
When we wait on unforthcoming promises from a state content with lies
When we wait for the order of things to change, while we die
Where is love, where is love and I should go
Where is love, where is love and I could go
Your dissent
Your descent, I know
Your dissent
Your descent, I know I’ll await for you
And you hide behind robes
And you hide behind robes
Despite how we strove
Despite how we fought
Where is love, where is love and I should go
Where is love, where is love and I could go
Where is love, where is love and I should go
Where is love, where is love and I could go
Your dissent
Your descent, I know
Your dissent
Your descent, I know I…
Dystopian Future Movies are:
Caroline Cawley – Guitar & Vocals
Bill Fisher – Drums
Rafe Dunn – Guitar
Marty Fisher: Bass Guitar
Dystopian Future Movies, War of the Ether (2022)
Dystopian Future Movies on Facebook
Dystopian Future Movies on Instagram
Dystopian Future Movies on Bandcamp
Dystopian Future Movies webstore
Tags: Dystopian Future Movies, Dystopian Future Movies War of the Ether, Nottingham, Septaphonic Records, UK, War of the Ether
