As I wrote in my track review of “1.5,” Broken Vow’s knack for primal chugs and environmentally-conscious lyrics suggest a love of Earth Crisis, but there’s much more happening on their debut album Anthropocene than idol worship. From thrash riffs that could fit on Ride the Lightning to atmospheric passages that fall on the more post-hardcore side of things, the music is far from one-note, and the lyrical content follows suit. Environmental crises inform a lot of these songs, as does the corruption and oppression brought on by the American government and military, but Anthropocene isn’t all rallying cries; it’s also about the times when those rallying cries feel hopeless. One of the album’s most powerful, personal songs is “Function,” which vocalist Tommy Harte (who also plays guitar in Anxious) says is “about the feeling of powerlessness and worthlessness in the face of a catastrophic state of the world.”
For more on this great LP, Tommy has given us a full track-by-track breakdown. Stream the album and read on for what he had to say…
“Burning Your Throne”
I wanted the first track to be a mission statement and a sampler of topics that would be touched on later. The message is broad but also simple. We reject the current social and political order that strips humans of their humanity and destroys nature to further the unsustainable cycle of consumption it has created.
“Kingdom Dies”
This song is about how the military preys on the disadvantaged and hopeless to wage the rich man’s war overseas. There’s a lot of irony in such few people wielding a power that if directed at them would cause their almost immediate downfall. Their power exists only in our minds, and if we turn the tide it will be easier to overthrow than we could ever imagine.
“Evil Armies”
Continuing the theme of the military, here I wanted to talk about how the constant conflicts and culture wars that America wages are used to distract and divide the population. If we are constantly in a state of conflict against some internal or external threat we will never fix any problems, only vanquish foes and search desperately for the next one.
“Function”
This is a very frustrated song. As hard as I try sometimes there’s no poetry in the state of the world, everything feels more and more hopeless every day. This song is about the feeling of powerlessness and worthlessness in the face of a catastrophic state of the world.
“1.5”
Every year we lose 1.5% of wild nature to development, extinction, and general human intervention. This song is about the objective truth that humanity is squandering the privilege of the earth. This is not our dominion, and if we wish to survive we must exist in harmony with the earth and cease to view it as a foe to conquer.
“Propaganda Of The Deed”
The name of this song speaks for itself. When corrupt politicians are unstoppable through the system they operate in we must turn to more radical methods.
“Shift Tactics”
This song is about cowardly politicians, those who talk big and make promises they have no intention on following through on. It’s about rejecting a political system so steeped in the acquisition and maintaining of power to change anything for the Everyman.
“Reversal”
When we lose nature and we destroy the earth we lose and destroy ourselves too. We are inexorable from the earth as much as it is at our mercy. Reconnecting with our Mother Earth will surely awaken in us the desire to save her.
“No More Air”
This is my saddened letter of love and devotion to the earth and to humanity. As an unknowing child we stumbled through this world looking for something to call ours, but we fell victim to greed and excess. In the process we spoiled the beauty and resources of our home, and became unrecognizably alienated from our roots. It is hard to imagine a future that doesn’t entail larger destruction, greater excess, and further alienation. And knowing the effects this has already had, it is a profoundly desperate resignation. This song is about that desperate resignation, and trying to overcome it by attempting to reconnect with the original humanity still within us all.
Broken Vow — 2023 Tour Dates
11/1 – Holyoke, MA @ The Hoff w/ xNomadx, Adrienne, Balmora
11/6 – Burlington, VT @ Monkey House
11/7 – Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck Bar w/ Botfly
11/8 – Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar w/ Botfly
11/9 – Woodstock, NB @ Crossing Paths w/ Botfly
11/10 – Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse w/ Botfly
11/11 – Moncton, NB @ Xeroz Arcade w/ Botfly
11/12 – Portland ME, @ the Cavern
11/13 – Hamden, CT @ The Shop w/ Foreign Hands, Balmora
11/24 – Troy, NY @ No Fun