Having reached the dizzying heights of virality with hard-hitter “Saint Bernard,” Lincoln returns after two years with the more mellow, explicitly melancholic and overall ethereal “Everything is Wrong.” The song is a poignant reflection upon the state of society at a time of emotional extremism. Headed up by the strong, socially-charged vocality of a narrator somewhat ironically condemning “words, buzzwords” and “synonyms”, the voice is accompanied by an almost discordant choir of backing singers, no doubt representative of the disharmony to be found within the world around us.
This track is meticulously and cleverly constructed to stir within the listener a sense of uneasiness. The short and snappy conceptual lyricism helps to build the notion of ideological division. The song swings on a pendulum-like rhythm between seemingly beautiful natural wonders with dogmatic principles, all juxtaposed; we are left wondering whether it is naive to take the optimistic view that life can still be mended. Accompanied by a choppy, unnerving lyric video set within a computer system and across expansive landscapes, there appears to be the same semblance of contrast between the constraints of societal living and the vastness of the planet outside of humanity.
Ending upon the acapella (arguably the most compelling) observation of “angry laughs and happy cries,” encapsulates exactly what “Everything is Wrong,” signals – the ease of confusion and difficulty in making sense of a dark world. Listeners can only expect a deeper look into Lincoln as an artist and his place more widely as an individual with the release of his debut album, “Everything is Wrong,” and should be very excited about what’s to come.
You can stream “Everything is Wrong” on all major platforms:
