Ball of Wax 55 Songs: Grumpy Bear – “‘Our Land'”

“‘Our Land'” (placed in double quotes because the title itself is properly written with quotation marks, for all you punctuation-heads out there), is a new slice of dark pop genius – extreme emphasis on the dark – from our dear Arizona friends Grumpy Bear. A proto-apocalyptic report from the border, “‘Our Land'” hits the ears like a long-lost Brian Wilson demo – one he might have written in a dour moment, then dismissed as just too darn bleak before turning anew to his piano and writing “Surf’s Up.” The lyrics are beautifully crafted, with a clever nested rhyming scheme (I don’t know if that’s the proper term; I may have just made it up or totally misused it) that delights as it horrifies, closing with a verse that should leave a knowing pit in the stomach of all Americans: “There’s still bodies on the sand / Along the borders of our land / We feel no guilt, don’t feel the gravity / The world simply dies at our command.” The music gradually falls apart at the end, we hear steps and a door closing, as if the band themselves can’t get out of this nightmare fast enough. I’m right there with you, fellas.