i’ll cut you in half/while you’re smiling ear to ear

On my second listen of the new Bruce album, Magic, and I’m liking it quite a bit. There’s a couple of songs I could do without, but by and large it’s pretty great.

Where the Rising was largely a reaction to 9/11 and was thus a mix of mourning and celebration, this one is a clear reaction to the six years since. A couple of tracks sound like lost Pet Sounds tracks musically, but with lyrics that undercut such an upbeat melody. The title track in particular starts off as just a throw away tune, slowly twisting around into a condemnation of the powers that be.

Some of it’s not quite so subtle though:

Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Darlin’ will tyrants and kings
fall to the same fate
Strung up at your city gates
Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake