“Fracking,” by the Seattle punk band Matriarch, begins with a guitar screaming like a buzzsaw and crashing drums and cymbals that do not let up until the close of the piece. It is ferocious. A fast and hard introductory few bars full of drive and attitude lead to the song’s first verse, in which Matriarch provides their opening argument for a case against fracking. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting under high pressure water, sand, and a slurry of chemicals into the earth to release then capture oil and natural gas trapped within the earth. Fracking has been associated with air and water pollution, health issues, and an increase in earthquake frequency in areas in which it is practiced. Fracking has made certain people very wealthy. As mentioned above, Matriarch opposes the practice.
Matriarch, after a summary of the European settlement of America that includes the displacement and resettlement of the indigenous people that has allowed for the development of today’s urban environment, moves from verse to chorus, from opening argument to an indictment of the greedy, and then to a call to arms to wake up and end fracking. What a call it is. Punctuated with a staccato vocal delivery, that guitar, and those drums, this is full-on fight the power punk rock.
“Fracking” is a terrifying, exhilarating, smart, and inspiring song. In the less than three minutes that it takes Matriarch to rip through to its conclusion, they alert us to our fate if we do not heed their call and fight to save the planet from being exploited and wasted until nothing is left. With fists pumping and my voice raised, I stand with Matriarch in spreading their call:
We’ve got to wake up to it!
We’ve got to fight them through it!