Mock Deer – Contempt for Others (2022)
In his single ‘Contempt for Others’, Mock Deer is both confrontational and reflective. Tackling the challenge of coexistence, he unleashes his frustration with a resigned and weary heart. Musing on everything from self-righteousness to societal ostracism, he balances defeat with the idealism that marked his previous releases.
While the single was originally written in 2019, the changes the world has faced allows the emotions and lyrics to hit differently. As part of his Perceptions EP, the single gives us a taste of the topics and lo-fi goodness that has stood the test of the pandemic time. Recorded live on an Italian mountainside, the tracks, and this single, bring a freshness to the air that many of us have been missing.
The strummed acoustic guitar has you resting into the opening of ‘Contempt for Others’. The mournful guitar notes that reach out against the strummed tones tug at your heart and meet the synths for a sad dance. The music is delicate, with a touch of cynicism, that has you resigned to the bad of the world. When the shuffling beats come in and rub against your skin, they lead you into a burst of glittering lights. This is when you know a bit of idealism is still resting at the core of the track and the ember just needs a breath of life to flare into something beautiful.
The movement of the melody, from mournful tones to the glimmer of light, is a little at odds with the rather defeated lyrics. Mock Deer’s vocal performance is so emotive as he reaches into your chest and attempts to tug your heart out. The lyrics are a path paved in broken dreams and the indifference of society to the plight that many face. While this can make the single extremely depressing, the rousing chorus fans the flames within all of us and has us prepared to fight for what we need and want. It is a really soaring chorus that burns its brand onto your soul, but in a rather gentle way.
Mock Deer layers mournful and resigned tones with the inner flames of a fighting spirit in the fresh folk-rock tones of ‘Contempt for Others’. The music dips you into the mournful tones from the start, only to fan the inner embers of idealism. His vocals bring defeated lyrics to your ears, only for the rousing chorus to bring back your fighting spirit.
Find out more about Mock Deer on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
