Single Review: Just Shut Up for a Minute

Just shut up for a minute.

A sentiment I can fully endorse.

God can’t we all.

Imagine if Bob Dylan and John Clarke fused into one person.

That person would be Daniel Armstrong.

Many artists have their lockdown songs. Many of them fall foul of tired tropes about isolation and lack of connection etc. etc. Not so for Tamaki Makaurau artist Daniel Armstrong and his “ever expanding band”, The Monsoons. A tongue and cheek nudge at the negative attitudes of certain members of the “Team of 5 million” during 2020’s lockdown and their rabbiting on about how tough it was. Just Shut Up For A Minute is a witty ballad-esque tune grounded in its indie songwriter roots. Excess free, it lets the building melody grasp your attention. Dashes of violin accentuate the build toward the crescendo. Clocking in at two minutes and forty five seconds, it doesn’t drag on aimlessly, but fills its runtime with enough comedic eloquence and musicality to artistically nail its point.

While the song is influenced by all the keyboard warriors, Plan B pushers, and problematic extroverts who couldn’t handle 4 weeks of domestic civility, Just Shut Up For A Minute is a song that everyone already knows. A song we’ve always had for those moments when the blabbering is enough. When reason and logic fails you just wanna snap the air with “hey would you just shut up for a minute?”

I think I’m going to load Daniel Armstrong and The Monsoons latest tune onto a buzzer for the next time I’m in a meeting. Just in case.