Exclusive Premiere: Strange Lot Comes to a Realization in “Gods & Clods”

Strange Lot © 2017
Strange Lot © 2017

If heat waves had a soundtrack, it would sound like Strange Lot’s new single “Gods & Clods,” which Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering today. Intense, multi-layered, and psychedelic, the song takes unexpected twists – slowing down then speeding up the rhythm, inserting distorted guitar solos in between moments of stability – and takes the listener on Strange Lot’s journey towards the truth and an important realization.

Listen: “Gods & Clods” – Strange Lot
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The title track off Strange Lot’s new album Gods & Clods (3/3/2017 via Strange Records), “God & Clods” starts off with a thirty-second instrumental section that will transport you to the psychedelic and colourful frame of mind that Strange Lot seem to reside in. The atmosphere of the song has been set and you’ve boarded their train, now let Strange Lot take you on a trip and tell you a story.

Racing out of the gates
And I’d say, repeat all you could
Talkin’ over your shoulder
I don’t know ya, anymore
Strange Lot © 2017
Strange Lot © 2017

Dominic Mena’s voice, which along with the melody seems to move like waves, is veiled under the solid bass and drums while he sings about leaving the “gates” that once trapped him and pursuing freedom.

Taking our steps, towards your lawn
Making our way, without a loss

The song grows in intensity when Mena shows a clear sense of direction and exemplifies his determination to get to the “lawn”, his final destination, “without a loss”. This is the point where the song’s overarching theme is emphasized, both lyrically and musically – Strange Lot says, “This song deals with a “grass is always greener” theme. It goes hand in hand with the title in that it takes the perspective of a “clod’s” vision of trying to reach the other side where the “gods” reside.” Once the listener finally realizes what Mena’s goal is, the bond between him and the listener is created and strengthened, just like the song.

I was waiting to save them
I guess it caved in

The song’s pace returns to its initial state when Mena admits, with a certain air of nonchalance, to not being able to save the people who were on this mission with him. It is a moment of stability before a guitar solo punctures the song’s calm demeanor.

All was coming along
And I’d hold you inside a warmth
All was coming to truth
So I’ll send it over to you
They said you’d know best
Accept the sworn debt
Gods & Clods - Strange Lot
Gods & Clods – Strange Lot

Turns out that, despite serenity being reinstated yet again, the realization that the grass isn’t always greener finally comes to Mena. Feelings of deception and the image of the unmasking of reality are evoked in lines like “All was coming to truth” and “They said you’d know best”. A second, longer, and more heavily distorted, guitar solo follows, maybe symbolizing the unease and restlessness which seems to have come as a result of this mission.

Taking our steps, towards your lawn
Making our way, without a loss
I know, they’ve said
Listen 

The song returns to Mena’s initial movement towards the lawn, but his voice is now supported by additional layers which give him strength. After “Listen”, the song alternates between moments of ease where the bass takes centre stage and moments which bring back the song’s main chord progression thus far, but now with an added “Oooh” on top. This juxtaposition can be seen as the clash between the person Mena was at the start of the song, the one who believed in “the grass is always greener”, and who he became after he realized that such a statement is not always accurate or true. The guitar and drums are what bring the song to its conclusion, creating a moment of tension before the sound fades away. “Gods & Clods” is the title-track on Strange Lot’s new album, set for release on March 3rd, and if it is a representation of the album itself, we can expect atmospheric and thought-provoking tracks infused with sunlight, heat, and psychedelic rock.

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cover: Strange Lot © 2017
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