Review Summary: How We’re All Victims of Predators
Lullaby- A quiet gentle song to soothe a child to sleep. Most of us have pleasant memories of them, whether it be ones we’ve learned in school, or more commonly, songs that our parent’s have sung to us at bedtime in hopes of having some peace finally in their day. In truth, each one of us in a certain manner of speaking, have a lullaby sung to us everyday through different means. It’s not just any lullaby, but rather one far more dangerous. One that is sung by predators. How so? Before I get into that, let’s get some backstory on this record.
Raine Maida, more well known for his role as lead vocalist for Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, takes his activist tendencies into his first solo record. Musically and lyrically this album is a stark departure from his work with Our Lady Peace, with Raine stating that he was inspired by artists such as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. This record features an emphasis on acoustic instruments and some spoken word vocalization. Additionally utilizing the piano and other folk inspired tools at his disposable to create a dense and moody atmosphere, benefiting the subject matter.
Concerning the themes of the album, it is certainly politically charged, taking aim in general terms at how Governments treat Third World Countries, and how their own domestic administration contributes to the life that the population lives. There is even a jab at environmental issues in the track China Doll:
“She’s sweet like honey
Sour like democracy
She don’t want your money
She needs your sympathy
She’ll be your greatest lover
But she doesn’t belong to you
She’s unlike any other
She doesn’t belong to you”
China Doll
Raine goes on record stating the aforementioned track is in reference to the documentary created by Political figure Al Gore, in his documentary The Inconvenient Truth, created as a dire message to take environmental threats seriously to save the Earth. You may be asking though, how does the predatory lullaby play into the record in general?
Essentially the Hunter’s Lullaby in a nutshell, is about how those in power lull us into either a false sense of security or distract us. Think of it this way. The Government plays the part of a parent so to speak, by providing parameters on what is right and wrong, implementing rules to keep us safe, encouraging us to do good and have fulfilling careers among other parent like messages. However the thing is, they do not always have your best interest at heart. Realistically when you boil right down do it, they by and large only care about themselves and the size of their wallets. For instance, some decades ago smoking tobacco was marketed as being good for you when they full well knew it is not. How about those melting arctic regions? No everything is fine (some say) climate change does not exist. You get the idea? They lull you into a false sense of security in much the same way a hunter or predator aims to make their prey feel safe or unaware of the danger. As long as they win in some way, they are fine with gaslighting you for as long as they can.
So how can we not fall victim to these predatory lullabies? All I can say is, question everything. Question the context, the source, try to verify information and take it all with a grain of salt. Too often many of us accept what we’re told in this instant gratification world dulling the will to dig deeper on what we hear. And that is what predators depend on. Complacency. In regards to this record though, I do recommend giving this particular lullaby a try.
