The punk/prog-rock project of Boston’s Michael Aroian, Elsewhere gives him the perfect outlet for when the world seems strange, when he’s full of rage, and confusion reigns. The band covers topics such as addiction, disease, politics, and religion, with Aroian preaching his gospel, guitar in hand. By his side were percussionist Adam Soucy, and bassist Jay Raffi, and over the years they raked in the audiences as they toured the world, and released more EPs than you could shake a stick at.
In recent years however, the Covid-19 pandemic and a diagnosis of cancer for Aroian, the band has taken a more sombre form. Their most recent release, ‘Life…Is A Fraction’, marks a move towards a more concept-driven style from the band. Released in 2022, it’s a colossal project, and while thankfully Aroian has made a full recovery from cancer, he is very much aware of how important each day is, especially when it seems to go faster than the last. In all, this life, just as the album title says, represents a mere fraction of the life we have already lived.
‘Life…Is A Fraction: VI. Realization’ stands out as a tirade against the moralist mind-controllers; the parasitic, dogmatic, bureaucratic liars who mislead about the meaning and promises of life. It comes straight out of the gate with fully-formed chords and syncopated rhythms, as the lyrics wind their way through enraged realisations of how we’ve been deceived. Unusually, the song ends on a bridge; it leads into the next track, so there’s a natural tendency to listen to the whole album in its entirety.
The music video for ‘Life…Is A Fraction: VI. Realization’, takes into account Aroian’s personal experience with cancer. A woman serves as the protagonist, and she sits vlogging, having been confronted by an agonizing diagnosis. Between shots of Aroian, Soucy, and Raffi doing their thing, we see her railing against church, state, and general hate, while images of her enemies flash throughout until she hits the bridge and leaves them behind. She stands up with a resolve and freedom, and then walks off deeper into “Elsewhere”.
Watch the music video for ‘Life…Is A Fraction: VI. Realization’ below and find out more about Elsewhere and their music online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Comments