Being problematic, in an age that rewards docility and conformity, might be the only act of resistance we have left. Motihari Brigade know this well. Their new album “Problematic” , released on June 25 (George Orwell’s birthday), blends infectious rock grooves, sharp irony, and a philosophical depth you don’t come across every day. It does so with a rare balance: arrangement, composition, song structure, message, groove, accessibility – everything in its place. As if beneath the pleasant surface lay a huge amount of work, and not even particularly hidden.
The sound draws from Strokes, Jet, Kula Shaker and company, but mixes them with a philosophical culture rooted in Orwell, Huxley and Socrates, leading them into funky, reggae, and soul territories. The result is an album full of groove, pleasant to listen to, but rich in meaning. The lyrics are at times ironic, at times straightforward, tackling themes like mass propaganda, censorship, artificial intelligence, and militarism, against the backdrop of a generation distracted by screens and TikTok dancers. No preaching, but consciousness. No moralism, but thought.
The album alternates moments of pure sonic power with more rarefied reflections, building a narrative arc that starts with denunciation and arrives at something like a spatial meditation. There is room for uncomfortable questions about where we are going now that society has become a cult, for Socratic explorations in rock form, for the devastating cycle of war and its trauma. And there’s a reflection on the most insidious prison: the comfort of our smartphones. All seasoned with a verve that is never ostentation, but serves to make the weight of the message more digestible. Monumentally ironic is the “virtual assistant” voice on the track “Chatbox Don’t Like It,” which says: “Press 1 to fuck off – Press 2 to drop dead…” all perfectly in the groove. This perhaps conveys the idea better than many words on the brilliance of this project.
Motihari Brigade is the project of Eric Winston (guitar, vocals, songwriting), who chose the band’s name in honor of Orwell’s spirit animal. The album was recorded by real flesh-and-blood humans using genuine internal organs, as the press release proudly notes. A detail that says it all: in an age of digital production and algorithms, they chose the opposite path. Flesh, blood, sweat. And questions.
“Problematic” is an album that asks to be listened to by shaking your head, legs, mind, and heart. Because rock, when it’s real, is never just entertainment. It’s thought. A great job by Motihari Brigade. And thank you for reminding us that questions are more important than answers.
https://mbrigade.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063516634178
https://twitter.com/BrigadeMotihari
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6jfdFDBuSLE7wPjYOKfSni?si=fCtHCEIMSiOmmvRZYnaBAQ
https://mbrigade.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0WAcC1DvNT3W7ivzvJ7ocg
https://www.instagram.com/motiharibrigade/
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