Angryoldogs do not purr. They do not whimper. They snarl, they gnash, they bare their yellowed fangs at the unjust, the cruel, the bloated, and the blind. Their latest offering, Woke, is an incendiary spoken-word manifesto wrapped in a high-concept, genre-defying soundscape. With a bassline as boundless as the ideological battleground it seeks to conquer, the track prowls through layers of avant-garde production, flickering between the raw urgency of punk poetry and the hyperreal shimmer of J-pop-esque astral vocal samples.
“I’m woke like a real bloke, DEI…” – a line spat with the conviction of a battle-hardened activist, dripping with both defiance and irony. The track straddles the razor-thin line between satire and sincerity, delivering a scathing indictment of complacency while weaponizing humor against reactionary outrage. It’s a reclamation of a term twisted into a caricature, a mocking laugh at the old joke that refuses to die.
But Woke is not merely an exercise in provocation; it is a zeitgeist call to action. “Expose all those fascist clowns, bring them down… before democracy dies…” – here, the track shifts from biting commentary to dire warning. Angryoldogs sniffs out hypocrisy like a bloodhound, their wet noses pressing into the corridors of power, seeking out bigots, despots, and the architects of division. It is a fearless pursuit, one that demands accountability.
Yet beneath the rage, beneath the bile and the spittle, lies an unexpected tenderness. “Let love rule…” is the final command, delivered not with the softness of a plea, but with the urgency of a necessity. This is the paradox of Angryoldogs: their bite is brutal, but their cause is love. It is the love that fuels the fight, the love that refuses to be trampled by apathy.
To the right wing, “woke” is often used as a pejorative term to describe progressive social and political awareness, particularly around issues of race, gender, and environmental justice. They see it as an overreach of activism that disrupts traditional values. However, being truly woke – in the sense of being awake and aware – is crucial for saving planet Earth. It means recognizing the urgent need for climate action, social harmony, and compassionate living. Love energy, the highest frequency of consciousness, is the key to healing both humanity and the environment. By embracing interconnectedness and acting with awareness, we can shift towards a sustainable, thriving world where nature and people flourish together, and this is the message that Angryoldogs are manifesting.
Nellis du Biel, the mind behind the snarling beast, crafts his compositions with the help of a revolving door of fearless musicians – those willing to throw themselves into the fray. Together, they forge music that refuses to be tamed, music that refuses to look away. Woke is a feral anthem, a growl against the dying light, and a rabid demand for something better. So listen. And stay woke. The dogs are watching. We have added the opus to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we engage our cerebral cortex in some revolutionary activism!