Track By Tracks: Slow Draw - The People's Department Of Governmental Checks & Balances (2025)

1. The People’s Department of Governmental Checks & Balances:

This is a track breakdown of the album. As a preface for the album, please note that this album is a continuation of the frustration with current times and events as expressed in the recent release Living in a Land of Scarecrows https://slowdraw.bandcamp.com/album/living-in-a-land-of-scarecrows (January 20, 2025). Things seem to be going in reverse, and nothing is logical, so this mess of songs reflects that kind of chaos and frustration.

2. A Misleading Sense of Direction:

This song is the first track on the album, and it is aptly titled. You don’t really know what is going on until you get past this song. But you might wish it had stayed like this. A soft ambient beat drags you in as you hear sporadic air traffic controller gibberish. One thing to note about this song is that it was created in GarageBand as I was flying home from a trip to Japan back in February. This is immediately after the mid-air collision on the Potomac River.

3. Paradise of Fools:

A cousin to Living in a Land of Scarecrows, Paradise of Fools is a mess of distortion and noise meant to be ugly and uneasy on the ears. The thought is that we just need to shut this shithole down. Why do they get the spoils of things they didn’t do? It is a paradise for others created by fools. In this track, I attempted to do it as slowly as possible, which ended up being about 2.5 BPM. When I recorded this, I didn’t realize how painful it would be to record such a slow riff, especially for 12+ minutes. The drum recording was not easy, and I had to maintain a continuous wash of cymbals. Now, who’s the fool?

4. Inventing Scapegoats:

You're being force-fed, and you don't even know it. Stop being content with being in line. Stop believing false claims about those you don't know or understand. That is the message in this song. At the same time, we all know it is hard to not be part of the system to survive the system. Every little bit of resistance helps. Baby goat steps.

5. Data Corrupter:

This title might be a little more straightforward. Apparently, it is easy to win if you can convince everyone that what you say is fact. The truth isn't about agreeing. It is about facts, not opinions claiming to be facts. People seem eager to believe a lot. My unpopular opinion (is it) is that religion has conditioned people to believe unbelievable things. The magic happened thousands of years ago, but it can’t happen now unless it falls in line with what they want.

6. Trying to Land:

Trying to Land is the bookend companion to A Misleading Sense of Direction. This song is about trying to rein it all in. Can you bring it in nice and smooth, or will it be rough and unpredictable? In this environment, you’ll never know until you are on the ground. Will it be rubble or business as usual? Instead of the nice ambient tones, you get a nasty, dirty riff on repeat with minor fluctuations. Air traffic control is once again filling the void with their noise, and you don’t know what they are saying. Is it backward, a foreign language, or are you dreaming?

Fortunately, I made it back from my trip. I hope this one can be a trip for you, spark some thought, and maybe bring you back down. I won’t say safely because there is no safety anymore.