Alternative rock with a twist of punk rebellion and pace – an indie project openly opposed to division and arising dictatorships. R.L. Wolf blends sarcasm, scorn and satisfying tuneful explosions, for the unapologetic God Bless The 1%.
“I guess we’re all brainwashed, but how would I know? I’ll just keep waving my flag at the rodeo.”
Leading with its title-track, God Bless The 1% delivers a catchy rock anthem that could easily and mistakenly feel like a call of unity and patriotism.
It’s a gritty punk-pop approach, with fast-paced lyrics and a simple, mildly melancholic hook resolve; “Man, I love me some democracy. This is the greatest country in the whole wide world.”
After this, the musicality shifts gears distinctly, the soaring solo leading us into a joyful, colourful knees-up of a gospel and folk-kissed Praise The Lord and Pass the Hat; an incredibly catchy Americana jam, which again blends those subtle twists of sarcasm and passion in a way that could potentially, briefly at least, draw in crowds from all sides of the political and spiritual spectrum.
Cry Cowboy Cry then turns towards a classic country shuffle, with an edge of distorted electric guitar on occasion, and these scene-by-scene lyrics paint a picture and story that’s quirky and again calls out a particular experience and mindset.
There’s a complex uncertainty to some moments, a quality that runs throughout this EP. This song changes tempo at the half-way mark, concludes its own journey with character and flair; a story of heartbreak either envisioned or mocked. The R.L. Wolf approach encapsulates that sort of blurring of lines – a non-confronting alternative sound, which both comforts and unsettles intermittently.
For Zombie Nation, already noting tens of thousands of streams, a huge stomp of a rock track takes on a society at risk of sacrificing its independent thought, by way of a theatrical set-up and performance perfectly blending metaphor and realism. Then we return to a country bounce and heartbreak, for Now She’s Gone, before the conceptual weight of the EP is wrapped up with a colourful and disturbing ode to modern reality.
Big Brother Is Watching You is at first eerily joyful in melody and nostalgic simplicity, then strikingly gritty for its gunshot effects and the sudden punk-rap vocal thread amidst this distorted electronic soundscape. Contrast is crucial, and the song feels something like a short audio play for its juxtaposed sections and playful but poignant sense of urgency.
The artists have long since been voices of honesty and fearless reflection throughout history, and that remains true. God Bless The 1% is everything its title implies, and is also perhaps nothing like you’ll be expecting.
Find R.L. Wolf on Instagram, YouTube & their Website.
