American Arson have released the lyric video for “The Least Of These”, the third track from their new EP, titled The Vine & The Branches. Check it out below. Make sure to tune in to IVM this week for premieres of all the tracks! Order the album, which releases June 27th, here. Read more about the meaning behind the song below as well.
Hello and welcome to Day 3! I’ve decided to skip around again and release the final track from “The Vine & The Branches” today, a song called “The Least Of These”. You’ll quickly realize that it’s a bit of a departure from the loud rock songs I’ve released so far, more of a whisper on an album of roaring. Those of you who read the post I created back in April might remember that all of these American Arson songs were written and recorded as if they were being performed by a single guitarist and drummer (though I did have some gang vocal help from Noah DeLeon of Gone By Sunset on this song). This is primarily accomplished via looping, whereby parts are played live and then looped over one another using a foot pedal. This technique is on full display in “The Least Of These,” with both picked and ebowed loops loops stacking on top of one another as the song swells in the bridge.
Lyrically, “The Least Of These” is loosely based on the true story of a homeless man who laid dead on the streets of an American city for more than a day. Passers-by noticed him, and some even stopped to pose for selfies next to the man’s body, but an ambulance was never called. The story really hit home with me, reminding me of the way we often pass by the homeless and destitute as if they were simply an unfortunate piece of the local scenery. Whether or not their situation was brought on by addiction or bad decisions, or was perhaps the result of an unfortunate or uncontrollable turn of circumstances such as mental illness or the loss of employment, one thing is certain – life is precious.