We’ve raved about The New Mutiny before. Their recent tracks “A Godless Promise Mechanism” and “Echo of You” were brilliant, and we became instant fans. The bar was set high.
Now the Virginia-based rock band is back with a brand new track, “Narcissist,” and it exceeds our already high expectations.
The inspiration for the track is the stuff of nightmares. The New Mutiny’s singer and guitarist Jason revealed that the song is about a sociopath who has decided to take a woman’s life, and it was largely inspired by a friend who may have been on track to meet a similar fate.
“…[S]omeone extremely close to me had ended a toxic relationship she was in for 16 years. We all thought he was a great guy and that they were happy. It turns out he was an emotionally abusive, controlling piece of human garbage, and left behind some pretty significant emotional scarring. When she opened up about what had gone on she said, ‘He is definitely a narcissist and I believe very strongly that he may be an undiagnosed sociopath.’ If that’s the case and she hadn’t gotten away from him, any number of terrible things could’ve happened to her that were worse than what she had already gone through. That’s the exact statement that inspired the song.”
The band captured a truly terrifying situation in enigmatic lyrics and hard-hitting instrumentals. About two-thirds of the way through, “Narcissist” really comes to life with an instrumental breakdown—the lead-in to a musical expression of the final moments of a woman’s life, expertly distilled into the lyrics:
“Why are you acting like you’re dying all alone
I’ll keep you in my heart
I’ll never let you go
When the night takes you I’ll take your pale green eyes
Say good night my love”
With just these few lines, the band has painted a vivid picture not just of the woman’s final moments, but also of the titular narcissist. We understand how his perspective is twisted, and the sad, disturbing reality in which he resides.
As difficult as the subject matter is, it’s impossible to stop listening to this song. The pace of “Narcissist” is fitting for the subject matter, and for a song clocking in at roughly five minutes, it surprisingly feels like it’s over before you’ve had enough. You’ll likely want to listen to the song once because of the rich sound, and again to absorb the lyrics.
The New Mutiny is planning to continue releasing tracks for the rest of 2020. Check out “Narcissist” on YouTube and Spotify (out TODAY!), and be sure to follow the band on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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