The pop-rock band Oliver Future recently moved from Austin to Los Angeles. And while its new album Pax Futura is a polished, hard-rocking tribute to the bright lights of L.A., it still packs a hint of down-home Texas twang.
"Signing Off" embodies the album's themes of isolation and struggle, barely scratching the surface of volatile and complex world events. It does, however, find a way to lead listeners, almost blindly, to the brink of war: "How's your reception before the final war? / Will you watch the pundits or look out the window?" singer Noah Lit asks, presumably addressing the nation as a whole.
It's a danceable clash of dreamy vocals and jarring chords, of collective hope and universal despair. But, as with so much successful commentary about large-scale clashes, it allows the wide-angle shot of the battlefield to zoom in at eye level: "And you and I don't talk a lot, there's not much to be said / We spent our time polishing the glass between us." Then, with a final rallying march and the words, "We all must take a dive," "Signing Off" throws its audience into the fray without reservation.
Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'
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