Single Review: October

Activist and musician Yasamin’s single October was written about the ongoing anti-government protests in Iraq and inspired by the hideousness of the Christchurch mosque shooting. She used the song as an outlet, and in an attempt to bring more attention to the “ongoing brutality being used against peaceful protestors in Iraq”. October is the first song to be released from Yasamin’s upcoming album Songs Over Baghdad.

The song begins with plodding guitar and breathy vocals stating, “wake me up when October ends, I can’t watch you murder these perfect men”. There is a nonchalant tone to Yasamin’s performance, which heightens the regularity of these severe acts of violence and hate against peace. She seems worn down by the evil in the world. The song is simple. Stripped back and bare, it allows the message to be communicated with sincerity. The shifting pulse of October paints the unsettled feeling that resonates in a nation after such an awful event.

Yasamin attacks the masculinity of the people who take part in the violence in Iraq with the hook line “no real man hides behind a gun”, which is left to be sung acapella at the end of the track. The message that “peace will always win, if not now, then in the end” is both powerful and important.

October is a charming acoustic peace that is easy to listen to despite its heavy subject matter. Keep an eye out for the full length album to be released this year.