LOW CUT HIGH TOPS - WE’RE ALL SHEEP

Think you're pure? Above reproach? Seattle's Low Cut High Tops calls out absolutely everybody on "We're All Sheep"!

LOW CUT HIGH TOPS - WE'RE ALL SHEEP

It's rather easy to feel self-congratulatory in today's world of hashtag activism and empty "woke" posturing. It's easy to share a thinkpiece or RT an actual activist's messaging and feel like you're being a part of the solution instead of participating in the problem. It ignores the highly complicated, complex nature of today's world, when even entertainment companies are two small steps removed from arms manufacturers and anti-progressive lobbyists.

Those Taylor Swift singles you're consuming could be fueling wars in the Middle East, not to mention furthering age-old beauty standards. No one wants to own up to that, do they?

In a way, it seems that Gen X and early Millennials were a bit more self-aware in terms of their complicity. For all of their sometimes insufferable pretentiousness, Radiohead turned us onto Naomi Klein's No Logo and the evils of Corporate America with Kid A and Amnesiac. Rage Against The Machine reminded us that America is fueled and founded on racism and bigotry, over a stampede of ferocious, funky metal guitars. Tool reminded us that pretty much everybody's a phoney, deserving of scorn.

Seattle's Low Cut High Tops is here to set the record straight with "We're All Sheep," ripping the self-satisfied smirk from the faces of slacktivists and corporate feminists.

"We're All Sheep" calls out today's pop culture, across the board, sounding like a funkier, alt-rock take on Tool's "Learn To Swim." Guitars cry like street corner prophets, screaming to the heavens, that they might remember us, that they might wash this fearful fronting from devouring us completely. Gucci shoes, body modification, designer handbags, all fall under David Burns' withering gaze, leading to the scornful chorus "Baa, baa, baa…," over a rhythm section worthy of Nirvana.

We Are: The Guard think Kurt Cobain and co. would be proud. And we're here to remind you that all hope's not lost. You don't have to play the game. You can do your own thing, go your own way. It'll serve you better in the long-run. Masks get itchy and uncomfortable when you wear them for too long.

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.