It’s very rare that I find myself having an instant liking for a song after the first listen. So when that very rare event does happen, I often end up listening to it on a repeat. That’s exactly what I did with the new track from White Noise Cinema ‘Tell Me I’m Wrong’.
After a 5 year hiatus, White Noise Cinema (Benj Hiorns, Jim Atkins, Tom Paine, Will Allman, Ben Allen and Scott Ewins) are back with what I think is genuinely one of the most well produced and well put together tracks I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to from an up and coming band. It feels big and it feels purposeful, all the while pushing one very simple message: ‘to hell with AI’. We live in a world now where generative content is just a touch of your phone screen away, and with it comes the inescapable oppression of art. This song is so beautifully poignant for a future of art that is so harrowingly bleak. That said though, it is songs such as this that I firmly believe AI will never be able to recreate.
There’s a line just before the midpoint of the song that stuck out to me on every listen: ‘It’s not your fault, it’s not too late’. In a time where every creative industry is under threat, it’s so important to remember that as creatives trying to get a foot in the door, whether you write or sing or play an instrument, it isn’t our fault. We were merely presented the instruments of our own downfall and ‘it’s not too late’ to reject them and push them aside.
Musically, the song feels so accomplished. From Benj Hiorns’s vocals to Scott Ewins’ drums, there’s something about this song that really makes me beg the question: how aren’t they bigger? There’s an essence of Muse there, but really only a hint. Their sound is so unique to them and it’s so refreshing.
With a debut album coming in the summer of next year, I really hope this track is setting a precedent for the rest of the album. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, then I urge you to drop everything you’re doing and listen to it now.
‘Tell Me I’m Wrong’ by White Noise Cinema is out now!
By Josh John