You can always count on Glasgow’s Humour to lyrically turn any story into a song. France during the 1830s takes on a post-punk twist as the five-piece tackle war and disfigurement in this new track.
Beginning with a propulsive baseline and drum sequence, ‘Take a Look at My Tongue’ screams its verses in sparse interludes but in typical Humour fashion, boasts a melodic chorus. Similar to that of a running away from home scene in a coming-of-age film.
The lyrics are taken from a French soldier’s point of view, nicknamed the ‘Gunner with the Silver Mask’, from the tragic loss of half his face during the 1832 Belgian Revolution.
“I was teaching at an art college in Edinburgh and every year we would take the students out to draw at Surgeons Hall, the anatomy museum. One of the displays is a plaster cast of this soldier’s ruined face, with jaw missing and tongue hanging down uselessly, and beside it a silver mask that was designed to make him look and feel more human again.”
‘A Small Crowd Gathered To Watch Me’ is out 1.12.23. Pre order here.
Photo by Marilena Vlachopoulou
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