Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
To confront the legacy of racism in America, we need more than pretty words. We need voices in dialogue — truth-telling voices from brave people willing to ask and answer hard questions. Shane Palko and Mannie T’Chawi are artists like that: they’ve never been afraid to call out injustice or grapple with the demons that haunt our common history. But more importantly, they never hesitate to speak to each other. The dexterous guitarist and folk-rock singer and the fearless spoken-word poet and pianist have joined forces for “Blood” and “Fathers,” two strange, stinging, mesmerizing, thoroughly gorgeous recordings that are terrific on their own but which achieve powerful resonances when heard back-to-back.
“Blood” is a heartfelt confession and a showcase for Palko’s instrumental talent. It captures the Pennsylvania songwriter in the raw, weaving hypnotic patterns on his acoustic guitar and matching his riffs with a candid, plainspoken vocal that radiates sensitivity — and culpability. Palko’s unapologetic lyric interrogates the complicity of silence common among white Americans and asks all of those who have benefited from the social system to acknowledge the blood on their hands. It’s a fearless statement from a vital artist who has always written with profound urgency and searing emotion.
For more on Shane Palko, visit ShanePalko.com or follow @ShanePalkoMusic on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more on Mannie T’Chawi, visit MannieTChawi.com or follow @Mannie_TChawi on Twitter and Instagram.
