Gold Key embrace experimentation, and demonstrate the musical collision of several different sounds in their new single, “Mechanical World”. The band is from Watford, England, and have enjoyed a strong year of success coming off their debut album Hello, Phantom. The album was put together after the band formed in 2016, with vocalist/guitarist Steve Sears beginning to write music with Laurent Barnard. They added Jack Kenny on drums, and James Leach on bass, and they were ready to go. Having all been in other bands at the time, they all saw this as a project where they could experiment, and push themselves out of their musical comfort zones. Now they are following on from Hello, Phantom with new music, starting with this single “Mechanical World”.
Vocalist Steve Sears says about “Mechanical World”: “It’s a song about feeling suffocated by the world, not being able to shut off from the technology we simultaneously rely on. Its easy to moan about the evils of social media whilst being totally addicted to it. Nearly all of us have created our own artificial world: An alternate reality where we constantly look successful and happy through the photos we have chosen to share with the world.”
You can really see the message they are trying to send with this song through the lyrics and the vocals. I almost get U2 type vibes from these guys, and I could see this song ringing through stadiums around the world. The vocals and instrumentals are simply mesmerising, and as I listen I’m taken away into the world of the song.
“Pull out my eyes, feed them to the machine.”
I see someone obsessed with the illusion of happiness. As the verses of the track set the tone, they post photos all over social media, smiling and letting everyone know how ‘happy’ they are. Their facade is alive and well. As they stare at the screen and this photo of themselves, they know its fake, but they love the idea of being happy so they keep it up. They close their eyes for a second and when they open them they are surrounded by screens. The first chorus kicks in and it is like Times Square. Every screen has the picture of themselves on it. That huge fake smile, piercing through them. They spin around and around, quietly begging for relief from the horrible gaze that is their own. They can see the suffering behind their own smile and they can’t stand it. The shiny white teeth, the dead eyes, the tension lines on the cheeks as the smile is unnaturally forced, it cuts through them. They close their eyes and scream and scream, the bridge of the song being the backing track for these unsettling scenes, as they put their hands on their head and cower on the ground. They open their eyes and they are back in the real world. They walk outside and smash their phone on the ground as the final chorus rolls through.
Watch this space for more music from Gold Key. I hope you’re as excited as I am. We’ve also added the track to our Spotify playlist HERE.
nice piece Josh ..