Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩 – 𝙀𝙙 𝙀𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙚
Charles trends the buck…
Sorry, I’m back… Forgive me if this piece seems a little erratic and all over the place. My mind right now is a little erratic and all over the place – stands to reason. Going away and coming back is such a jolt to the system that I feel discombobulated. My thoughts and feelings are, how can I put it… Messi. In being away, I missed out on the relentlessly glorious (and therefore horrible) hot English weather. I missed out on the pubs being open till 5am. I’m not sure much else happened in Britain other than the murder of a politician, wildfires in Scotland and Wales (surely a first) and, of course, yet another switch of Prime Minister (most certainly NOT a first). We do this every few months in Britain, with every successor being just as uninspiring, inept or dangerous as the last. It feels a bit like skipping dud tracks on Spotify; except that Spotify doesn’t govern a country. Once I had arrived home and attempted to settle back into the swing of things (so far a complete failure), Sunday night was the World Cup Final. So, along with most of the world, I… No, I didn’t. I didn’t feel like watching it. Mainly because I didn’t much care by this point. Neither team’s nation particularly means anything to me so I wouldn’t really be rooting for either side. Also, said discombobulation was in full swing, so instead I sat and read. It felt like a nice, traditional Sunday evening.
The following morning, I read about all that had happened throughout the Final, and it got me thinking about the entire tournament as a whole. I had watched a couple of the England games while abroad so I was still able to have caught the feeling. Those adverts, eh? They’re always so different to usual adverts. Crisps (potato chips), beer, online betting, Google A.I., and at least in Poland – for that is where I have been – a slender version of Peperami. I must say, I did find it fascinating to watch Polish adverts. They were as embarrassing, dated and bizarre as the Half Time Show – don’t worry, we’ll get to that in a bit. The majority of these adverts included famous footballers (because their wealth only starts at football). Some of them are current, some of them are from the past, and some of them are seen almost like prophets of our time. David Beckham springs to mind… Having retired from the game 13 years ago, he must be almost penniless by now, having not held a steady job for so long. I do hope he has a decent pension plan; poor lad. Actually, it turns out he is on “benefits”. Or rather, he is certainly benefitting from the 12 brands (at least) for which he made adverts during the World Cup. These “benefits” amounted to around $25 million. Which is even more than the cost of my little holiday! After seeing that staggering figure it’s definitely time for me to have a well earned hydration break…
What a cleverly coined term: “Hydration Break”. What they meant was, Advert Break!! They’ll do just anything to make a bit more money, whilst losing momentum in the game, with just enough time for the players’ muscles to seize up. And all for that golden dollar… Hydration break: because we care (about embiggening the buck). How deliciously and surreptitiously capitalistic. After a few more minutes of that Final’s stalemate, it’s advert time again as we reach Half Time. And so the game resumes… No, wait… It does not. This is AMERICA!! Land of the free!! Land of the excess!! No game of football is complete without a tiny concert in the middle!!! Were you dancing along to the impeccable masterpiece that was the Half Time Show…? Madonna! Shakira! Justin Bieber! BTS! No? Well, neither was I. Partly because I missed it, but also partly because it was apparently absolutely dire and embarrassing. Not to mention ill-judged. What I haven’t seen mentioned, though, was how each act was just so dated and out of touch. Not just the artists’ fault, but the fault of whoever chose the acts (I believe the show was curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, so that might explain a thing or two, having become thoroughly Los Angelised). 25 or 30 years ago, Madonna might have been a good choice. 10 years ago Justin Bieber might have been a good choice. 20 years ago, Shakira might have been a good choice. 5 or 6 years ago, BTS might have been a good choice… But in 2026, this is not what we want. And in truth, I am sure very few wanted a show of any kind. Anyway: I missed out on that – in a manner of speaking. For me, the World Cup 2026 was an obese advert for America – the worst side of America. Profit first, football last. It is no secret that football would not be the mega thing it is now if it were not for mega profit. Of course, this has always been the case for pretty much everything ever in the history of the world… But it didn’t used to be on this scale. The game was always the meat around which the event was based. This time, though, I feel like the ball game was the thing to be slotted in amongst the rest of the vulgar circus.
Shall we finally get to the New Artist Spotlight’s very own prophet…? The man who started it all? The man who had a vision based solely on promoting independent music where every single artist pays exactly zero pennies to be a member…? Please welcome this fine young American, Ed Eagle! Despite that introduction, he needs no introduction. While he might be American, he stands for the good side of America. I still believe that there is so much good left in America, even though the world’s press slams it daily. The worst of America is in its government and mega corporations. The best of America lies in its people; the Americans. Hence why there are so many lovely Americans living in Britain these days. Taking an American out of America seems to be like removing the impurities of said American, allowing said American to thrive and enjoy life, giving smiles and good vibes to all they encounter elsewhere. Which is probably why Ed Eagle now resides in Canada. Of course, he will always have the original American values at heart: freedom, equality, peace, a bitchin’ collection of guitars… I have known Ed for 6 years and counting. If the NAS were to be seen as a place of education, I might even say we went to school together! He’d be the football type, all boisterous and leader-like, while I’d be the quieter, more sensitive type. The thing is, we have always had music in common. Just to be clear, we did not actually go to school together, in case you read that line a bit fast. We have not always seen eye-to-eye with everything regarding the NAS, but that is simply because we are very different people, and any organisation needs to be a little business-like in order for it to work smoothly (I can’t stand the business side of anything). The lovely thing is, we are both good souls with genuinely good motives, and we both have a great love and appreciation for music. We also both treat fellow artists like family. It is therefore with great pleasure that I bring you Ed Eagle’s latest single, ‘Prophets for Profit’!
Ed has always been one of the kings of “statement music”. He is not one to mince his words. He is not one for subtlety. He says what he feels. Which, I must say, is something I like about Americans. There are few layers of dry sarcasm and politeness to tear away before reaching the real substance of the matter. It’s just simply THERE. He tends to make big, epic songs. Not necessarily in sound (some of his songs are acoustic with a soft edge), but in the point he is making. I feel like his lyrics are the most important part of the writing process for him. For example, ‘I Miss You’, ‘Damaged Goods’ and ‘Bye!’ are all much softer songs of his, but the story of each of them is epic and resonant. ‘Prophets for Profit’ is very much one of his “statement” songs, as opposed to one of his more personal themes. Of course, he is not talking about footballers or the World Cup, but I do get the feeling he is talking about America and the careless greed of its powerful cog-turners. So FIFA might actually fall into that category… There are some big, powerful moneymen in this world right now, much like there have always been. But I don’t know if they have ever been so big, so rich, so powerful, and so cutthroat. The biggest and most recent offenders seem to be the young tech wizards with their HAL (A.I.) companies. They so proudly and brazenly break laws and parade around as though they are showing off the corpse of a lion they have just shot. They care not a jot about the carnage left in their tracks (I think they’re quite proud of it!), so long as their wallets are fit to burst. In fact, Ed even included a specific verse about HAL, where it takes all our jobs until there’s nothing left. He phrases it MUCH better and more poetically, but I’d rather leave the details to your own ears, first-hand. So, Ed is evidently not a fan of HAL.
However, HAL is not the focus of the song. It mainly hones in on the more obviously serious matters, like people dying because of needless war. And how rich criminals are able to continue with their filthy crimes while innocent poor people are starving. There is no direct mention of the big orange man at the top, but to me it is clear (I could be wrong) that this jaundiced fellow is on the mind of the narrator, even if the name doesn’t quite reach the microphone’s diaphragm. One chunk o’ woyds that does appear 3 times through the song, is “Who makes a profit, when a baby dies? Is he a prophet, or the devil in disguise?”… This line is a baseball bat to the face in terms of impact, and it’s right that it appears 3 times. Especially when it eventually leads to what for me is undeniably the greatest part of the song (also 3 times – 4 if you count the repeat at the end). In fact this bit is one of my favourite bits of any Ed Eagle song. It is expertly dealt with, exquisitely rendered, and frankly perfect in all ways. When coming to this section for the first time, the song is thus far a great, heavy rock song. It has slamming drums, a technically challenging riff, a bassline that echoes the riff in a lower register, and Ed’s spoken voice atop the lot. But as soon as Ed starts to growl like an angry bear with the lyrics “When will we…”, the whole song changes entirely. We are met with about 6 Eds screaming in perfect synchronisation to the words “Rise Up!!” – It is absolutely thrilling!! There is suddenly space, though. This isn’t the moment where the song goes full-on everything to 11. The song doesn’t really do that, which I think is where it shines. Weight doesn’t come from volume and density. It comes from contrast and passion. I feel like Ed has grown up a bit. He still retains his fervent views and values but he is now able to relay them with more dignity and grace. Ed Eagle is cooler now.
My final words on the World Cup:
Where was the dignity? Where was the grace? Actually, there was SOME. The end of that England/Norway game, both teams behaved impeccably. In fact, it was rather fond and heartwarming to see the bromantic hugs from one side to another. England was not gloating, but modestly (and justly) happy. Norway was neither angry nor bitter; they were heartbroken. And the England players made sure to comfort them and make sure they were okay; England themselves being all too familiar with the feeling of getting close but not close enough.
In the words of Ed’s debut single, “It doesn’t matter the team”.
Surely Madonna should have chosen her hit ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’… But then again, after Argentina’s disgusting behaviour once the final whistle had been blown, I shouldn’t think anyone was shedding any tears…
All the more reason to hold on to those islands. Hydration break!!!
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