Feminism is a topic that will never get old in art. Sorry, Patriarchy — it’s still a thing, and people are going to keep talking about it. From Helen Reddy to Lorde or Beyoncé, the equality and empowerment of women is a topic that is relevant to musicians in increasing numbers. One of the latest bands to take up the banner is Venus and the Moon. If the band name itself doesn’t give you an idea of their feminism, then perhaps their album Brother, Son will.
Venus and the Moon Use Their Talent for Good
Venus and the Moon’s pastoral lyrics and themes of independence and freedom exhibit their own unique variety of feminism, while crafting music that can be related to by a huge fan base. The duo from Los Angeles, made up of Frally Hynes and Rain Phoenix have established themselves as innovators in both feminist music and folk music.
The featured track on Brother, Son, is “Marry Me.” It has a gentle, acoustic intro with (not surprisingly) a strong, meaningful feminist message: “Life is just too sweet to promise to one man.” Their combination of skillful instrumentation and meaningful lyrics are reminiscent of other innovative folk musicians such as Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
Toward the end of the track, Venus and the Moon throw in some intriguing, eerily beautiful and mesmerizing synthetics (granted its a theremin, relatively old school as these things go), something we’re seeing an increasing use of in new-wave folk music. But hey, it works, and it adds to the band’s stylistic progressivism.
Artists like to talk about social issues, and it’s a good thing too, because art happens to be the greatest medium for social change. When someone stays silent on an issue they care about, they’re essentially contributing to it. Venus and the Moon are speaking out on Brother, Son, and they sound great doing it.
