An Anti-War Anthem from The Stone Souls
- BuzzSlayers
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
The new release from The Stone Souls comes through with a heavy-handed message that speaks volumes for how people are reacting to today's political agendas and climates, and also focuses a little bit on those of us who feel left out of everything altogether.
"Bucking Bronco (vs. The Secretary of War)" absolutely feels like an anti-war single, and it definitely digs deep, brings a lot of elements to light, and has a unique approach in terms of delivering that message with a very straightforward and in-your-face style.
The song feels like it stands for how a lot of people feel about wanting to retaliate or stand up against a lot of the violence happening in the world due to political standpoints and how we react to the media displaying certain elements of those standpoints to us all.
This was an outside-the-box approach to telling the story. It was pretty intense to an extent. Lyrically, it hits hard and holds very little back. It's not very aggressive, but rather informative and comes from a bit of a personal perspective, but a universal sentiment all the same.
What's cool about a song like this is that it used to be pretty common to have anti-war songs back in the day.
It wasn't an unusual thing to hear about a mainstream rock or pop single that was heavily anti-war-oriented. So, it's really nice to hear something that takes that element and brings it back to the mainstream again.
I feel like a lot of people are afraid to write these kinds of songs in our day. Otherwise, I'm sure we would hear plenty more of them. But we don't.
I also think that tracks like this one speak volumes for those of us who feel the same way but don't really have the intellect to articulate or express that properly.
It lets us feel like we're not alone, which is very important. That's another aspect of the song that gets brought up and is part of the message behind it.
It's a bit of a rebellion in terms of where it's coming from and rightfully so.
We are in the middle of a high-tension climate, and there is a lot of mainstream violence going on that we've almost become accustomed to at this point.
Plenty of us don't know exactly what to do about it, while others ignore it. But I think it is time to stand up to certain aspects of it.
I think a lot of us have had enough, and this track serves almost like an anthem to exactly that.
Track has some amazing guitar work that creates a smooth sort of flow, classic rock influence, and southern undertone that feels vintage at times, which I absolutely loved because again, it brings to mind classic anti-war songs from the past.
A lot of the guitar work is winding and sort of bending, which really helps that southern undertone push through really well, but again, also beckons the classic rock element loud and clear.
There are some layered guitars throughout the track, one performing chords for the most part while another one is overlaying that and playing similar progressions but arpeggiated into single notes, affected with a little bit of a phaser, once again bringing out a classic tonality.
One of the things I love most about this, aside from its message, is the energy levels. The whole thing isn't over the top; it's actually quite calm for a song that has such a strong standpoint, but the energy between the players feels alive and breathing.
It sounds almost like they recorded the track live, with everyone just feeding off of each other the entire time.
It's really cool how they were able to capture that kind of energy, whether they recorded it that way or not.
Listening to it makes you want to go see them perform live because again, this track is an anthem; it does have a really particular kind of energy behind it, and a lot of the power lies in both the performances and the lyrics together.
The main vocals are performed with a lot of heart, and I think that's because the singer really wanted to get that message across in a way that felt emotional, even.
Like you have spurts of spoken word that go into a little more depth on the characters, politicians, and government arms behind what's going on in the world, and those parts are brilliantly done and placed perfectly into the song so you're not missing a beat.
This is another way they're able to really drive the message home.
I can't say I've heard an anti-war song performed in that way.
This was one of the most unique protest songs that I've heard in a while and it's done in that classic fashion but brings new elements to push boundaries.
Upon listening to the track, I wanted to know exactly where it came from and more, so while you listen to the single, have a read-through of our interview with The Stone Souls below.
Remember where you heard it first.
Thanks so much for taking the time with us! Let's jump into Bucking Broncos (vs The Secretary of War)!! This release had some great messaging!
What is this track about and where did it come from?
Bucking Bronco vs. The Secretary of War our anti-war song. It is pretty much inspired by songs from the Vietnam era such as 'Ohio' (Crosby Stills Nash & Young) and 'For What It's Worth' (Buffalo Springfield), using recent statements by the Secretary of War.
The 'Bucking Bronco' is a metaphor for resistance, considering the current state of the world I don't think this needs further explanation.
This is the time to stand up against war crimes and violence.
I can hear several styles on this one. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
The Stone Souls are a blend of Desert Rock and Americana so besides the artist mentioned in the previous answer: From Queens Of The Stone Age
and All Them Witches up to Sierra Ferrell, Mazzy Star and Black Pumas and don't forget a lot of 50's/60's jukebox music.
Are you performing live at all?
Yes, de recently did an unplugged show wat Record Store Day to celebrate our Riptide/Bones EP's released on vinyl. This summer we will focus on finishing our upcoming album 'Mushroom' which we will celebrate with a live show this fall.
Did you record this at a big studio, or a home DAW?
We work pretty 'hybrid': We record a most things like drums and bass live in the studio while some home recorded vocals, guitars and instruments like a glockenspiel end up in the final mix.
To us it is more important that all sounds are human, all the instruments and vocal are real instruments played by real people. Personally I use whatever I can to capture human sounds.
What would you say people can expect from this single?
The song especially when you see it with the music video has a clear message. To us it was important to capture what The Stone Souls stand for and get this out to the public.
It's up to the audience wether it resonates with them or not. As and independent artist it's not about making a 'hit songs', it's about building a community of like minded people.
Now that this is out, what's next for you?
We got a festival show coming up, and besides finishing our 'Mushroom' album we are working on artwork and music videos.
This is a lot of fun too since The Stone Souls are as much a creative community as a band on stage.
What kind of advice would you give to other bands or artists trying to get heard out there?
Find out who you are, what you stand for and stay true to that.
Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
Thank you for your precious time and please subscribe to www.thestonesouls.com to stay in tune with what we do!
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