Song You Need: MSPAINT’s sneakily uplifting synth-punk single “Titan of Hope”

When did the concept of universal connection become so corrupted? The good ending for humanity was us becoming something like fungi, a globe-spanning network of egalitarian communities with clear and truthful transmissions between them. The reality is much starker, with every new device we conjure to keep us in touch with one another inevitably corrupted into something that keeps us isolated and fearful.

When I first heard Deedee, lead vocalist for MSPAINT, yell "You're connected to everything" on the band's roaring new single "Titan of Hope," I wondered if it was an entreaty or a warning. While previous releases from the Hattiesburg group have felt like inspiring rallies under gloomy skies, something is stormier on "Titan of Hope." The song's surrounding synth-punk melee — the sound of PlayStation sound cards melted down with west coast hardcore and Rage Against The Machine vinyl — seems more besieged than before, but it doesn't take spending a long time with the song to see its true nature: a searing declaration of the hardest and truest kind of connection. In the fungal sense of the word.

"Lyrically the song is trying to evoke hopefulness in the face of negativity and inspire a sense of urgency to look within ourselves to find ways to be positive," Deedee writes. "Those emotions coincide with the sort of urgency the song comes in with and it was intentional to sort of build up into and around more dynamic and experimental elements of our songwriting. The song was one we developed for the longest in terms of editing and arrangement."

Hear the song in the music video below, a sci-fi body horror treat directed by Derek Rathbun. "Titan of Hope" appears on MSPAINT's upcoming debut album Post-American, out March 10.