Normandie continues to hype fans up for their upcoming EP with their latest single, “Guilt By Association,” released last Friday. This is the third single off the new record, SIDE EFFECTS PT. 1, releasing on April 17.
“Guilt By Association” combines Normandie’s signature catchy hooks with heavy breakdowns and a hard-hitting message that’s oh-so-relevant in today’s world. The song confronts the ever-growing division in today’s world, thanks in part to social media algorithms and the echo chambers we tend to put ourselves in whether we mean to or not.
Lyrics like “We call it guilt by association / like empathy is the knife” and “this is the age of disinformation / you better just close your eyes / imagine heaven / and you’ll feel better” call out the issue loud and clear. Through the song, they encourage us to take a long, hard look at what we believe and how we treat other people who may disagree with us.
On Friday, lead vocalist Philip Strand elaborated more on the song’s message via his Instagram story:
“The cure for madness is not exclusion, it’s inclusion. The differences between us should help us build empathy and understanding that everyone is different but instead we shut each other out and build echo chambers and algorithm prisons.”
He continued to say that if a friend is showing “signs of insanity,” we should show them “love and understanding and help guide them to the light” instead of blocking them out. He ended with a powerful message:
“Nobody is perfect, so don’t judge your neighbor from your broken glass house. Invite them.”
The accompanying music video drives this message home with a chaotic editing style that switches back and forth between the band performing in a dark warehouse and each band member sitting alone at an interrogation desk with an old-style microphone, handcuffs, a pen and a notepad.
Not only does the music video get across the dark times we’re living in thanks to this mindset of isolation and otherness, but it also encourages us to look inward, perhaps even interrogating ourselves, to evaluate how our behavior may be contributing to the issue at hand.
“Guilt By Association” follows previous singles “Cyanide” and “Sellout,” both of which have been very well received by fans. This newest release continues to build anticipation for SIDE EFFECTS PT. 1, Normandie’s first project since becoming an independent band.
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