Vocalist Matt Honeycutt runs us through Kublai Khan TX’s powerful new EP, ‘Lowest Form of Animal’, from front to back.
Swan Song
‘Swan Song’ details nationwide and personal experiences related to street prostitution. The first segment of the track using Iowa 80 (nation’s largest truck stop) as a reference for the sex trade industry that works up and down the highways we travel every tour. The song then pivots and explains my own mother’s dealings with abuse before fast-forwarding to the odour and visuals I endured at her funeral. A circle of abuse reaching its full rotation upon her passing. The song ends with a message of hope that no matter how difficult things may seem. You have to find strength, and you have to move forward. If not you, then who?
Loyal to None
Everyone struggles with trust and inner peace. For much of my life, it’s felt like an uphill battle to get anywhere. This song illustrates the simple but relatable notion that all you have at the end of the day is yourself. People are imperfect, and for better or worse, they will let you down. It’s just a matter of how much you allow that to slow YOU down. Committing to yourself and being your own engine toward achievement is a strong trait to train. Starting working on it now.
Taipan
The song expresses the reality of waste. Wasting time, wasting brainpower. Wasting away because we are preoccupied with fast sex, low ambition, and creature comforts. Paralleling the cursed existence of a reptile in a cage with our own lives. Never seeing the sun, desiring freedom. But never seeing past our own noses because the appetites of the flesh have the ability to keep any man sedated and free from growth. 8 billion people on the planet. 8 billion personal cages. What’s confining you?
Resentment.
The title speaks for itself. This track exposes some of my deepest malfunctions. Equating my perception of love with constant acknowledgement and validation. Creating selfish and unrealistic standards that only lead to catastrophe. Completely poisoning the water and creating a toxic situation for myself and others. Understanding love has always seemed near impossible. And truth be told- if you have trouble loving yourself, can you truly love someone else?
Dynasty
It is no secret that the last two years have been difficult and, unfortunately, impossible for some. Self-isolation and separation have become a new normal that have increased suicides and drug dependency in this country. I detail losing friends to fentanyl. Watching others slowly slip into depression and suicidal thoughts, all while trying desperately to maintain my own mind. The idea that big pharma and mass media have had our best interests in mind is a lie that more people need to acknowledge. Because suicide is the unfortunate truth for many. Distrust and alienation. I refer to death as a prison with bodies stacked ceiling to floor as we all witnessed watching a 24-hour death counter on live television. Suicide is the epidemic. Ignorance is the illness. No matter where you may stand on the issues of the last two years. Are you willing to stand up for those who couldn’t?
Taken from the May issue of Upset. Kublai Khan TX’s EP’ Lowest Form of Animal’ is out now.
