ELDERLY WHITE MAN: “THE EMPIRE FELL DOWN”
Punk Head: Protest music has a long lineage. Where do you feel this track sits within that tradition?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: Although we occupy a completely different place sonically, we believe “THE EMPIRE FELL DOWN” is aligned with the spirit of political protest songs from Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Rage Against The Machine, The Clash, and any other artist who has written about corruption and injustice.
Punk Head: Did you approach this song as catharsis or a call to arms?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: It's both. We think of it as an epic lament, but the objective is to raise awareness and foment outrage. Millions of citizens are activated, but it's clearly not enough yet. A large number of Americans are too complacent or resigned to what is essentially an unconstitutional attack on American institutions and innocent Americans. To say nothing of the rampant corruption.
Punk Head: As a British/American duo now living in Portugal, how does distance change the way you see the United States right now?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: Many European cultures and countries are much older than the US. And they've fought fascism and authoritarianism on their own shores. Portugal, for instance, is only 50 years beyond a dictatorship, so the memory is fresh here. Most Europeans we speak with have no illusions about what is happening in the US. As residents of Portugal and consumers of European media, we get a very clear-eyed view of what's happening in the US without the ideological slant(s) of US media.
Punk Head: Does being outside the borders make your criticism sharper or more hopeful?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: We're both hopeful living in Portugal because its political situation is far more sane than that of the US or post-Brexit Britain at the moment. But we're both students of history and political junkies, which makes us pretty pessimistic about the US. The corporations, universities, tech bros, and the large law firms capitulated immediately, so any sort of institutional bulwark is gone. As is often the case, it's up to the individuals and the artistic community to resist now.
Punk Head: The track feels cinematic and urgent. What production choices were crucial in making the emotion land?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: We combined a bright, open chord progression on guitar with a sweeping string arrangement to give it the song a cinematic feel. Then we underpinned that with an insistent drum loop to create movement and urgency.
Punk Head: What was the most challenging part of turning political rage into a cohesive record?
ELDERLY WHITE MAN: “THE EMPIRE FELL DOWN” is the title track of our debut album, which will be released in its entirety in February of 2026. The album is a look at a society in political crisis through the eyes of nine members of that society; one for each song. The base material for the concept was all there for us. The challenge from a writing perspective was making all nine songs feel like a cohesive whole. Whether we succeed or not is not for us to judge. But we think it's an important moment to explore these ideas.
