Self-penned as left-wing synth-pop and electronica, a contemporary take on political protest music – the aptly named and rather unforgettable Debt Shop Boi delivers a series of boldly scathing original songs, and soundscapes that rain down with the hypnotic multi-coloured depth of eras past.
Intent on releasing two new songs every month for the duration of Trump’s presidency, we begin with The Revolt is Not An Apple (It Won’t Just Fall), and already the conceptual presence and provocation stands tall amidst this old-school electronic pop arrangement. The voice is mixed amidst a fullness and chaos, but certain lyrics pierce through the noise – reflections on history, war, the role of the self, the importance of action, and the dangerous impact of silence in the face of division and desperation.
As we then move into That Which Does Not Kill Us (The Suffering Song), suddenly the emotional intensity is overwhelming – this nostalgic and epic chord progression and set-up, The Pet Shop Boys reimagined amidst a poignantly unignorable thread of lyrical declarations.
The music immerses you, but the concept haunts, and that depth of escapism is something that runs throughout the fast-growing catalogue of Debt Shop Boi.
Other highlights from the complex collection so far include the fiercely confrontational In Truth, They Were Not Humans, and the uniquely hard-hitting ethereal dance tones and marching darkness of Manifesto of the Spectral Party.
There’s also the distorted synth realm of The Powers That Be Cling To Death, a quietly performed ode to the deadly decision-making that takes place on behalf of us all, and then of course, the more spacious and cleanly mixed scorn and rhythmically infectious pace of When The Rich Wage War, It Is The Poor Who Die.
These titles alone are enough to act as protests to the current state of the world, but the music develops on that with ferocity and intent, blending production depth and long-form lyrical evolution, throughout a series of songs or chapters that scarily and cinematically underline the shared ache of modern times.
Featuring a multitude of stories, an elusive yet stylistically focused Debt Shop Boi’s repertoire of music act as both a coping device and a self-described “dance between resistance and resignation, hope and despair, revolution and fascism.” If you’re feeling the same level of disconnection and emptiness in light of recent political surges, this is definitely an artist worth subscribing to.
Find Debt Shop Boi on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky & X.
