As the excitement and glamour of a new year begins to fade and the hangovers subside, claims of how this year is going to be so different to the last lose their shimmer. If anything is going to get us through the grim haze of gloomy mornings and seemingly endless work deadlines, it’s some great music; and Public Body’s latest track ‘Reset My Password’, feels like the perfect candidate.
‘Reset My Password’ is a result of singer Seb Gilmore’s attempt to come to terms with his own job and its uninspired routine – particularly in the face of the tragedy and disruption of the pandemic. Gilmore comments “at the height of Covid, everyone was clapping for NHS staff and key workers… and that got me thinking what my place is in all this mess. I then logged onto my work computer and was advised by a popup that it was time to reset my password.” The result was a desire to write a song about “how useless my job is to the world when everything felt like it was breaking and seemed apocalyptic.”
In ‘Reset My Password’, the Brighton band have combined their signature rapid-rhythms and angular guitars, in this angsty rally against working life. Despite being inspired by a string of terrible jobs and exploitative bosses, the song’s charm hinges in its humour. The lyrics centre on the most banal aspects of working life with clear underlying feelings of frustration and agitation, but the track is punctuated with moments highlighting the absurd yet mundane nature of it all. This use of ridicule results in a song that feels like a distinct yell of frustration bursting out of a world of faceless, grey, tired commuters.
The track is lifted from the band’s upcoming EP ‘Flavour Of Labour’ which will be released on March 3rd, and contains the same overarching themes of disillusion and resistance. The charm of their sound is found in the alluring balance of satire and social commentary, using humour to make you reflect on the sheer ridiculousness of modern life.
