One of the most devastating side-effects of Covid isn't actually related to the virus itself. Rather, it's related to stay-at-home orders: domestic violence has been on the rise since the pandemic began, and it's likely to continue rising as local and state governments adopt more aggressive lockdown measures in the coming weeks.
New York funk-rock trio Soul Saver-comprised of Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover, Black 47 bassist Joseph "Bearclaw" Burcaw, and multi-instrumentalist Jaeme Brennan-McDonald-address this crisis head-on in their new single "House Arrest," premiering below.
"It's the year 2020 and we're all under house arrest," Glover growls in the first verse over propulsive, grooving instrumentals. "Being forced to shelter in place causes you distress / Getting drunk and watching the game is just a thing of the past, he treats his wife as / nothing more than just a piece of ass."
In the second verse, our protagonist finally breaks out of the cycle of abuse: "She knows what's coming 'cause all this has happened before," Glover sings. "She can't bring herself to stay but can't walk out the door / The kids are crying again 'cause they're afraid for their lives / they got nowhere to go, there's nowhere to hide / They can't take much more of this living in this fear / she's about to take her stand, gotta get out of here / One more time is far too much, his grip is much too tight / as he passes out they pack and run into the night."
"During the early months of the pandemic it occurred to me [that] being quarantined in close quarters with abusive partners was putting women, children and men as well at risk," Burcaw says in a press statement. "This is a major issue plaguing our society, and it has become a national and global crisis. We wanted to give a voice to those affected by violence and ensure victims of this country the importance of repairing the system."
For Soul Saver, "House Arrest" is both an opportunity to spotlight domestic violence and support survivors. The trio will donate a portion of the song's proceeds to the anti-sexual violence organization RAINN.
"My neighbor Doug Wimbish is Living Colour's bassist and he introduced me to his godson Jaeme Brennan-McDonald," said Burcaw of how the song came together. "As 'House Arrest' took shape, I knew it demanded a vocalist of Corey's caliber for both the track and our new outfit Soul Saver. Because Corey is the voice of our generation, I found Soul Saver to be the catalyst needed to highlight his vocal diversity."
"I'd been doing other things with Joe and Jaeme," comments Glover. "When it came time for Soul Saver, which is Joe's brainchild, they thought I'd be a good fit as a songwriter and singer. The project feels like community outreach, looking for ways to make music that speaks to the world at large and also the microcosm of the places we live, outward and inward at the same time. We all collaborated on 'House Arrest.'"
Of course, that collaboration occured remotely due to the ongoing pandemic. "Since we were all in separate places," explains Glover, "we'd do a session and go back and look at it after three weeks, then we went back and forth until we came up with something we could live with. It was all done virtually, tracks, words, changing a line here and there, editing and stuff like that."
"This is absolutely going to be an ongoing project," adds the Living Colour frontman.
