Matthew Bannister aka The Beautiful Fear is releasing their latest single Land of Never Mind on February 29, 2024. This is a song that would no doubt feel close to home, as Bannister has managed to capture the anxiety and the collective apathy that we are experiencing as our society apparently crumbles before our eyes.
“Land of Never Mind” he describes, “is a ‘Post Apocalyptic Lullaby….’ an apathetic mourning. It speaks generally of our time, of events from the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, the summer of 2020, Jan 6 to Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine and the barbaric atrocities we have seen recently.”
Bannister sings his lullaby/lament in a slow and contemplative tempo. The accompanying drums and harmonies are soft and pleasant, contrasting the weight of each lyric. “The drones fly overhead, the sky’s a spy, a lifeless eye”. Our narrator watches silently as more and more atrocities are flashing on the screen in front of him. As his feed floods with these awful images, so too does everyone’s collective apathy. The lack of urgency in the song reflects the inaction, anxiety, and exhaustion of everyone around him as they’d rather continue with their scrolling.
The Beautiful Fear’s Land of Never Mind is deeply poignant yet feels effortless in delivering a strong message. Although it’s ultimately a lullaby, I believe this blunt depiction of our world can also be seen as a rallying cry to take action. It also proves that great art is a mirror to our society.