Halcyon Phase spend some time down and out on The Mean Streets in their pointed and powerful new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The opening cut from their recent sophomore album Critical Misunderstandings On The Precipice, the smouldering progressive rock epic pulls no punches in its critical analysis of homelessness — and the heartless bureacracy and greed that produces and sustains it:
“Crooked halls of power screw the dispossessed
Of charity and kindness, seems there’s little left
To rehabilitate our awful selfishness
We turn the other cheek and pass the torch.”
“Mean Streets is a song about people struggling with persistent homelessness and society’s general indifference to their plight,” says singer and lyricist Frank Smith. “I feel that there’s so much more attention and funding from our governments that need to be provided to those who deal with housing and food insecurity. Our social safety net is fragile at the best of times and we have an epidemic of homelessness at this moment in time, even in wealthy Western democracies. It’s a tragic situation.”
The accompanying video — which documents the dire situation with a mix of unflinching authenticity and pointed visual metaphors — was created by Robin Youlton, who also crafted the video for the album’s first single, the anthemic AI World.
Mean Streets was co-written by Smith and Phillip Victor Bova, and features Frank on lead vocal, with Phil on bass, electric guitar, Wurlitzer and Polymoog. Gord Finley plays drums, with John Fraser Findlay on lead and rhythm electric guitars and piano. Kellylee Evans, Shannon Ross and Jeremy Abboud sing harmony and backing vocals. Mean Streets was selected from songs around the world by Prog Sphere to be part of their Progotronics 47 compilation, released in November.
Critical Misunderstandings On The Precipice was produced and recorded by Bova at his own Bova Sound in Ottawa. The album was released in the fall of 2024. Its 14 original songs address the state of the world, human relationships, actions and inaction, at a particularly perilous moment in our history. These are love songs, breakup songs; treatises and melodies that speak to social injustice/inequities, climate change, artificial intelligence, struggles with mental illness and addiction. A thread lamenting the rapid passage of time and aging runs through it.
This collection of tunes also explores the role of the artist in society across mediums of artistic expression; the value and importance of pursuing art at all costs. Smith and Bova have crafted a compelling collection of powerful, melodic songs that are framed in genres including indie rock, progressive rock and folk with distinct flavours of jazz.
Watch the video for Mean Streets above, listen to Critical Misunderstandings On The Precipice below, and get in sync with Halcyon Phase on their website and Facebook.
