Bob Vylan have released a blistering new political song called ‘Pretty Songs’ – listen to it below.
The track sees the London grime punks address the Black Lives Matter movement, featuring the lyrics: “Black lives have always mattered, you were just never told so on TV.”
Speaking about the new song, the band said: “We’ve never been a band that’s shy to talk about the world as we see it.
“We could write songs that aren’t so direct, we could write songs that don’t make some people feel uncomfortable but that’s not what we’re here to do and that’s why we wrote ‘Pretty Songs’.
“The song really speaks for itself but it touches on direct action and is kind of a tongue in cheek critique on the new wave of ‘activists’ and ‘allies’ (including those in bands) we’ve seen grow over the past year or so, particularly those advocating for non-violence and passive resistance.”
Last month Bob Vylan kicked off their ‘We Live Here’ tour.
The group embarked on the tour in association with the National Lottery as part of their ‘Revive Live’ partnership with the Music Venue Trust, which is aiming to support independent grassroots music venues across the UK.
“With live music taking such a hit during the pandemic we were sure to pick venues that serve the community they’re part of and we’re excited to get out and bring The Church of Vylan to the people,” they said in a statement at the time.
Speaking to NME in June, Benefits frontman Kingsley Hall named Bob Vylan among the UK acts who are making “music that couldn’t have happened at any other time”.
“To me, the songs are about trying to understand what Britain is today and how it’s becoming unrecognisable to something that may or may not have existed 10 years ago,” he said.
“That might be about racism and sexism being heightened, xenophobia, classism, violence, hatred, but that’s not to say they weren’t there before. It just feels like they’re bubbling up right now.”
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