Around four years ago, Barry Dolan of Oxygen Thief's alter-ego Non Canon appeared on the scene with a self-titled record. It's 2020 and the world is politically imploding back into its own filth. Out of the social media cesspits, fracking, fatbergs, and flipflops, we ask where the protest singers have gone. Well, good news... Non Canon is back and going off script again.
If you enjoy the acoustic musings of Ed Sheeran, think Louis Tomlinson is the saviour of UK indie, or believe that Lewis Capaldi is the bad-boy of the Brit scene, then ‘Non Canon II’ will not be the record for you. It’s out on 15th May 2020 and this is the album’s lead single ‘Dark Force Rising’.
Mostly, it’s Dolan’s voice and sparse guitar strummings. It’s as barefaced as a Boris Johnson lie but isn’t that what we need? When all the instrumentation and extraneous production is stripped away, ‘Dark Force Rising’ is a rallying call.
It’s not quite Woody Guthrie or Billy Bragg but it’s an essential song in today’s fight against bigotry, fascism, racism, and the divisive nature of, well, everything. The track ends with a choral reprise, made of vocal recordings collected from the good people of the internet. These are the literal voices of the oppressed calling you out on all your bullshit.
Listen. Now, listen again.