Drawing us in with a countdown of T minus 10 seconds to ignition, Motihari Brigade open their cover of Fortunate Son (originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969) with a dimensional rock soundscape featuring astral guitars, textured drums and a psychedelic adjacency.
The cover stays true to the original lyrics, and opens with the poignant prose, “Some folks are born made to wave the flag, the red, white and blue, and when the band plays “Hail to the chief”, they point the cannon at you…”
In essence, Fortunate Son is a protest song about class inequality, privilege and the unfair burden of war. The lyrics criticize wealthy and politically connected families, like “senator’s sons” and “millionaire’s sons”, who benefit from nepotism, patriotism and power whilst avoiding the real sacrifices, such as fighting in wars or facing hardship.
This feels zeitgeist today, more than ever. It’s almost as if society has gone full circle, as it does, and we are right back in a loop where this message rings true with reference the state of reality as we know it.
Motihari Brigade reiterate, almost sixty years later, the idea of not being part of a privileged group, singing the hook “it ain’t me”. They are speaking out for ordinary working-class folk who are expected to suffer and serve whilst the rich stay protected. The original version of the song became especially associated with criticism of the Vietnam War, but this time, we have a plethora of wars and genocides to choose from with regards to the message.
The guitar solo is transcendental, inviting introspection, whilst the trippy, garage rock vibes with a passionate delivery feels important and timeless. The explosive finale is haunting and legitimately rather harrowing – a beautiful execution of art as activism.
We learn that Motihari Brigade are set to release their new album Problematic on June 25, 2026, George Orwell’s birthday, with the band humorously suggesting it may further destabilize an already chaotic world.
The album is set to tackle themes such as mass propaganda, censorship, artificial intelligence, militarism, technology addiction and modern cultural distractions, blending sharp social commentary with dark satire. Reviving their “Mini-Rock Opera” concept, the record presents a connected suite of songs exploring the relentless drive toward war and its damaging consequences.
Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Fortunate Son to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream Motihari Brigade‘s wider discography, including the entirety of their 2022 album, Algorithm & Blues, and anticipate the release of Problematic this Summer!