Peter McPoland's New Album "Piggy"

Peter McPoland is tired, he is angry, and he wants to be heard.

When McPoland began releasing music to promote his new album, he first released one of my favorite songs of the year: "Digital Silence." He promoted the song endlessly on TikTok, singing the second verse over and over again until it became an earworm that I needed on my playlist ASAP.

"Digital Silence" is powerful, it is a call for change, but at a first listen, I was only focused on the way it sounded, on the way it felt to listen to his voice.

McPoland's voice is incredibly recognizable, it is definitely an acquired taste that I fell in love with when I first listened to "Romeo and Juliet," a simple love ballad. That song catapulted him into fame and quickly joined mainstream media and songs that trended on TikTok. McPoland's music made a quick 180 when he released "News At 9," the titular track of his album Slow Down.

Slow Down was already a huge pivot from his first successful single, "Romeo and Juliet." It has a general feeling of desperation to be heard, to be noticed. Piggy is McPoland's attempt to really, truly, scream to be noticed.

McPoland is tired, he is angry, and he wants to be heard.

The first track on Piggy that truly captured my attention was "Were You There." I had added the entire album to my playlist and clicked "Shuffle," while my car was filled with people, and that song immediately began to play. It's a tough listen at first, McPoland's voice is surrounded by a million different sounds, so I skipped it and laughed awkwardly.

Then, I took another listen. And then, another. Until, eventually, I was screaming the lyrics right alongside him.

"Were you there?" McPoland asks the listener, "When they crucified the lord?"

As a Jewish listener, I laughed with my friend and questioned why McPoland had a song that sounded like gospel as the seventh track in his new album. But, this track isn't meant to be religious, though it draws on religious allegories. The song is McPoland's way of telling the listeners that none of us are innocent. We all played a part in crucifying the lord (not my lord, but a godly figure to others nonetheless).

We were all there when they crucified the lord. So why are we acting like we can't shoulder the blame for the chaos and pain in our world? We are all complicit in what happens in today's world, regardless of how much we want to change it.

"Digital Silence," has a similar message.

I won't ask a question, I'll state the truth

It's everything I know and all I do

There's people better off, they're just like you

But no one is someone until I tell them who

It was hard for me to understand, initially, what McPoland was trying to say with this song. Honestly, with this album in general. Themes in music can go right over my head, sometimes, because I'm genuinely focused on what it sounds like, whether it successfully gave me goosebumps. McPoland's voice never fails to give me goosebumps.

The opening lyrics of the song are McPoland telling the listener to listen up, he has something to say. You may be better off remaining blissfully ignorant to what he wants you to know, but McPoland isn't about to let that fly. "No one," he says, "is someone, until I tell them who."

And then, we get to the second verse. The penultimate verse that was promoted over and over again on TikTok.

Why don't you get it? Can't you get it? Understand

They're gonna execute the mother to elevate the man

They're gonna propagate the killer, eliminate the youth

They're gonna blind date everyone until you love them too

McPoland's pleads are even more desperate here, as he calls to the listener to understand, begs them to finally understand what he is saying. I've researched the meaning behind every lyric in this verse, and this is what I concluded:

"They're gonna execute the mother to elevate the man," is in reference to abortion, and women are being given the death penalty for aborting a fetus.

"They're gonna propagate the killer, eliminate the youth," is in reference to school shootings, and the way the name of the killer is immortalized in media, rather than the names of those lives they took.

So why are we acting like we can't shoulder the blame for the chaos and pain in our world? We are all complicit in what happens in today's world, regardless of how much we want to change it.

"They're gonna blind date everyone until you love them too," this lyric is repeated over and over again, and seems to relate to some lyrics in the chorus: "Something you love turns to something you miss / Something you say turns to something you mean." There is a core feeling here of wanting to be understood and heard, but also a longing to be loved. McPoland will do anything to just be loved, but eventually, someone you spent so much time waiting for a reciprocation of feelings will become a memory. Someone you loved becomes someone you miss.

"Digital Silence" and "Were You There?" are only two tracks on McPoland's masterpiece that is Piggy, and I highly recommend you take time to listen to the album in its entirety.

A warning before you listen: it is loud, and it's supposed to be.