Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter Seth Glier has always used his folk-pop amalgamations to give voice to causes close to his heart and that’s nowhere as true than on his song and video for “Another Day in America.” The track is off his most recent album The Coronation where he meanders between both despair over the state of the world and a firmly grasping conviction we can turn it all around. It’s this undying perseverance that’s a hallmark of Glier’s poignant lyricism, as well as an ability to put to music decisive calls to action, that shines through on the track.
“Another Day in America” takes an eviscerating look at the onslaught of school shootings our country has grown unsettlingly accustomed to, as well as the infuriatingly cruel roadblocks propped up to prevent enacting meaningful and lasting change. The song also comes with an animated lyric video that drives the point home rather distressingly. In it, we see plenty of the terrible familiarities that accompany such announcements as school shootings. But, where both the song and video take it a step further, is by presenting it from the point of view of its innocent victims: children. Showing the heartbreaking ways that a ringing bell and a person with a gun have become just two normal accessories of K-12 schooling.
“After Sandy Hook, we said never again, then we let 3,865 mass shootings happen,” Glier said. “The fact that the only notable change is that kids are now formally trained to hide, barricade doors, or run for their lives isn’t just insane, it is inhumane. And we wonder why so many kids struggle with crippling anxiety? We can and must stop this senselessness in America.”
Other notable songs from The Coronation include “Poison In The Roots” (feat. Everett Bradley) which digs up the inherent racism and other prejudices that are woven into the very fabric of the story and formation of America. Or “If It Wasn’t For You,” a track inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai’s courage in becoming an activist and the power that has to be transformative. But that’s just one of the six albums Glier has recorded over the years.
His fourth album If I Could Change One Thing featured the track “Love Is A Language,” which he wrote about his nonverbal autistic brother. But if you’re going to start somewhere start with his sublime debut album The Trouble With People. A piano-lilting and melodic collection of ballads that showcase the galvanizing swells of compassionate turmoil that fuel Glier’s infectious humanism. It’s here he perfects everything from his folk-flecked and ecstatic instrumentation (“Gotta Get Away”) to his emotive storytelling (“Nervous Laughter”).
Visit Seth Glier on his website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Words by Steven Ward
Watch the lyric video for Seth Glier’s new single “Another Day in America” below!
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