They say money is the root of evil, and as cliched as that saying has become there rings a bitter truth to it. Not to say that your weekly wage can turn anyone into Patrick Bateman, but for many it is a thing that breeds stress, pain and greed. And it’s not like we can live without it either. It’s the commodity that, whether you like it or not, keeps this blue world of ours spinning.
We never seem to have enough of it, and through that certain feelings of desire and frustration are born. It’s not something we usually sit back and think about; our relationship with money and how it affects people is a fascinating one. It’s a sentiment perceived well on the latest track from New Gum Sarn Money Talks.
It’s mo money mo problems for New Gum Sarn and their killer new track Money Talks, a brilliantly stark look at the effect finances have on our lives.
New Gum Sarn are a fresh new band from Auckland, the four piece have been playing together since 2014. They haven’t wasted their time, with Money Talks being the third single the band have released in that time. Thankfully they aren’t just throwing shit at a wall and hoping to have something stick, they really excel with their songwriting and Money Talks may well be the song that gets them some mush deserved love and attention.
Money Talks, as you may discern from the track title and the long winded introduction to this article, is about money and the influence it can have on people. Front man Oscar Dowling drawls his way through the track, aggressive yet somewhat down trodden. It’s through his expressions that the song is able to come to life as his voice finds the tragedy in the line that money blurs betweens wants and needs. “Money talks to me/ 40 hours a week/ I go to school I’ve got a loan/ I learn to find a job to pay for things I’ll never own” has a melancholy to it and feels very real.
The characterisation as an entity that can speak does well to distinguish the track’s restlessness, as if ones and zeroes are the two little devils whispering into your ear. The way it becomes a thing with it’s own shady intentions, a saboteur of sorts, is a sinister one that gives Money Talks a distinct edge. The concept is simple enough but thankfully isn’t over blown with grand metaphors or statements.
It’s a track that resigns itself to the fact that money, no matter your feelings towards it, is a fundamental element of living as a functional adult. Whether you use it to measure success or how if you’re counting it to make sure you can get by, it is a necessary evil. New Gum Sarn have nailed the idea beautifully, and it leaves us itching to see what they’ll do next. Their debut New Gold Mountain is out July 31.
