We can always count on Energy Whores, and pioneer Carrie Schoenfeld, to shine a light on the zeitgeist. We last featured the project for exploring environmental fragility and existential uncertainty with Planet B, and when we heard that Carrie and her creative collaborators were back with Army of the Insane, we were curious to say the least, and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Army of the Insane opens with a cosmic synth tapping into a euphoric vibe with an emerging subversive, industrial bass as we experience compressed vocals with the lyrics, “The army of the insane are coming in, they’re coming, I see them up on Capitol Hill so you better start running…”
The opus expands into clarity as Carrie shares notions of apocalyptic dreams and a dying democracy, describing a very particular demographic of people (and their views) as zombie-like. The track holds a rather high emotional quotient as well as being fierce and cerebral, yet sad and melancholic. We love the way you can hear them marching in the sound design. It’s genius.
There is a real horror-film quality to the production, with pounding beats and unsettling synths creating a sense of impending doom. Like we said earlier, this feels pretty apt and zeitgeist. The Big Brother style video leans into this further and really cements the Orwellian nature of Carrie’s message.
For sync placements, we can imagine Army of the Insane fitting into the unsettling worlds of V for Vendetta, Children of Men, The Parallax View, Joker, They Live and A Clockwork Orange. On television, it could sit within an episode of Black Mirror, Mr. Robot, The Handmaid’s Tale, Years and Years or The Man in the High Castle. Though the actual depiction is in real-time.
Carrie’s background as a classically trained pianist, indie filmmaker and Off-Broadway producer makes sense in a track that feels as carefully staged as it is musically confrontational. As a follow up to the band’s 2026 album Arsenal of Democracy, this single continues their exploration of technology, power, political division and the contradictions of modern life.
We have added Army of the Insane to our New Music Spotlight playlist and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Energy Whores, including Invisible EP, Planet B, and the entirety of Arsenal of Democracy.