Mercury & The Architects – “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down”
Mercury & The Architects – “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down” – Single Review
The twists in the writing of this brand-new tune from Mercury & The Architects is certainly worth a shout-out or two!
To be honest…aside from completely supporting the song’s intentions and ambitions from the very moment I saw the write-up mentioning that “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down” being ‘dedicated to victims of terror and oppression around the world’ – I wasn’t entirely sure of where this song was going to take me when it first began.
“They Can’t Shoot The Music Down” starts out nearly in a Depeche Mode-meets-The Editors kind of gear before it kicks into a whole new gear about forty-five seconds in. As the song shifts, the music of TJ Mercury enlists strong structural support from fellow Architect, Christina Maia in a highly memorable performance. Not only is her part outstanding and audibly stunning to listen to – but it actually makes the entire track make sense to our brains when it begins…it retroactively explains the opening verse and adds incredible strength to support this idea overall. The message in the music is made of steel – and together these two hit home entirely on-point through the brilliant execution of a song with massive ambition and continual build-up – “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down” is about as fully-realized as a vision can get.
The somber nature of the opening verse from TJ Mercury makes so much more sense upon those repeated listens…so don’t give this track just one spin or you won’t catch the subtle nuances in the writing of “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down.” It bravely approaches its beginning with a distinct melancholy that serves the idea by communicating that war is a devastation that affects us all…or perhaps the fact that it SHOULD be something that concerns us all, no matter what part of the world we live in. Describing events that sound a lot like what the Eagles Of Death Metal went through last year in France…you’ll hear the message clearly in this song that echoes the sentiment of the people as we refused to let the few dictate to the rest of us all. We refused to…and we continue to refuse to let FEAR become us. We’re so much stronger than that to the point where it’s almost impossible to conceive of a world that would try to take us in any other direction. Musicians have always played an important role in explaining our emotions – and Mercury & The Architects have quite frankly, constructed a masterpiece out of this message…this song transcends its own genetic makeup…this is much more than something to listen to – it’s flat-out important to hear.
Christina comes in with completely bold and bright tones that clearly showcase her supreme talent – but no matter what you’ll latch onto…whether it’s the vocals of TJ, the music itself and how well it fits & moves alongside their idea – the message remains the focus and each element added truly supports it. When Christina comes in around forty-five seconds – this vision and message become completely clear, and the positivity and uplifting elements of their ambition here are audibly palpable. Incredible job in laying this one out as it’s been composed…you can tell that great care has been taken on to create one of the most focused songs I’ve heard in a long, long while. Everything from the music, to the vocals, to the production…it all comes this together perfectly in a reminder that WE the people, are always together in spirit.
You may or may not like your music with a message tied so boldly to it…and I can understand that. What I would also say though…is that there IS a time and a place for the right message coming at us all at a time where we NEED to hear it. The world needs leaders…the world needs people that are willing to speak up for those that can’t…the world NEEDS to remember that we the people, are as strong as steel when we put our hearts and minds together.
The world NEEDS more artists like Mercury & The Architects that completely understand that and communicate it as well as they’ve interpreted it here on “They Can’t Shoot The Music Down.” Absolutely brilliant from moment to moment and one of the most satisfying listens I’ve had in 2016…right at a time that the world really does NEED to hear a message like this.
And it’s in saying that…that I’d personally like to thank Mercury & The Architects for making this song come to life so perfectly. I know my world is a much better place knowing there are people like this willing to stand up for us all…and I’m positive you’ll feel the same way. LISTEN.
Find out more about them at their official page: http://www.mercuryandthearchitects.com/
Join the thousands of bands & artists reviewed at sleepingbagstudios by clicking here!
