Seth Howard – Flags for New Nations/Cartoon Crown
(Self-released, 1/20/2021)
On the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America, Seth Howard brings us what I’d like to call a “Double A-Side as informed by Modern American Democracy.” No, I’m sorry, that’s just too cynical-sounding. Isn’t it? But it’s also just as fitting as the titles of his newest sonic offerings: “Flags For New Nations” and “Cartoon Crown.” I almost don’t have to go any further for you to intuit the messages you’re about to receive. And yet.
Opening lines, my friends. They can make or break a song. Seth Howard is well aware and he delivers—in his unique, lived-in-and-stronger-for-it vocal—memorable phrases and terrific statements of purpose. Witness:
“Learn to hide under your desk”
“The day you died”
The ideas to follow build neatly on these, of course (and Seth Howard may be the master of restating opening lines at perfect moments later in his songs), but there’s no denying their power. The first, particularly, is a perfect way to compare our current political/social (sociopolitical?) climate with the one that existed some 67 or so years ago in this nation’s history. There’s fear and upset in the air now as then, and a large part of it has to do with a certain blood-hued specter the very name of which sets Conservative teeth a-chattering (heck, even the name of its friendlier-sounding cousin freaks them out). The desks under which we may need to hide, though, can no more save us from unjustifiably indignant civil warriors than they could from The Bomb.
As the song moves from an excellently rhythmic bass-and-rhythm guitar chug to a brief, smoothly-picked chorus (backed by understated wordless vocals), we are implored to “get busy making flags for new nations.” This line takes us back 160 years, but there’s been enough talk about that all over social media during the previous (SO FREAKING GLAD TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT) “administration” that I don’t need to explain. Suffice it to say that, if we continue on our current ever-more-polarizing path, we’re going to need at least two new flags.
“FLAGS FOR NEW NATIONS” BONUS: At least one extremist group gets put in its place with a simple line. Classic!
“Flags” is just fast enough and just short enough and just RESTRAINED enough in its vitriol to leave you wanting more—and you certainly don’t get it in “Cartoon Crown.” The second track opens with the sweetest damn lilt of aural beauty I think we’ll hear for this part of 2021. Over a mellow bassline and barely there acoustic guitar is a playfully twinkling lead that makes me wish it was included in every love song I’ve ever heard.
If “Cartoon Crown” is a love song, though, it’s one built on absence (remember that opening line?) and somehow shot through with enough scorn to make you wonder how deeply felt is the loss of this beloved? I’m not going to interpret the subject of loss. You’ll know it when you listen and you’ll wonder how you can feel both longing and shame. My advice is to pay attention and don’t avoid difficult conversations.
“CARTOON CROWN” BONUS: Possibly the best homophone ever used in the history of pop music. You’ll have to listen for it.
ARTWORK BONUS: The cover art is moving in its own right. The tattered corner of the stripes of our nation’s standard/emblem/banner—the red for “hardiness and valor” and the white for “purity and innocence”—appearing for all the world beaten and torn. I’d say it’s a requirement to look at this image for the songs’ runtime of five-plus minutes (I’m still trying to figure out how artists can pack so much emotion and contemplation into such brief pieces of work), to burn it into your brain, and to ruminate over what those loose threads mean . . . and where we go from here.
I think Seth Howard’s got a few ideas.