Chosen by Monk
My latest selection once again marks something of a turning back of the clock for myself, as I used to hang out with singer Al Gilmore and a bunch of other like-minded but otherwise isolated rockers and metalheads in the sleepy seaside town of Carrickfergus. In fact, I used to manage one of the bands he fronted – Nineties hopefuls Abandon, who managed to get coverage in the likes of Kerrap! and Metal Hammer (although that was probably more down to the connections forged by one Steve “Wee Bollox” Strange).
Now, some three decades after our life journeys followed divergent paths, we once again find ourselves back on the same rock ‘n’ roll highway with a new, and heavier (who said you have to grow old gracefully?), alt-rock reincarnation of one of my aul chum’s subsequent projects, which also sees him reunited with another mucker of yore, in the form of guitarist Steve Simms:
Speaking about the song’s lyrical thematic, Al told me:
Set in a near-future authoritarian society, [it] follows an ordinary citizen as freedom is gradually exchanged for security, conformity and social approval.
Through the eyes of one man, ‘All In This Together’ explores surveillance, censorship, social credit, propaganda and the quiet compromises that allow authoritarianism to grow. Ultimately, the system he uses to get ahead is the cause of his downfall.