Black Guy Fawkes – The Misery Suite
From deep in the heart of Western Maryland’s Allegheny Mountains comes “The Misery Suite,” the latest work from folk-punk artist Black Guy Fawkes, aka Ian Robinson. “The Misery Suite” is Black Guy Fawkes’ (“BGF”) third full-length album and complements two EP releases. It is a deeply personal collection of Robinson’s struggles and triumphs with racism, depression and self-doubt, and was written as a celebration at the end of a year of therapy and healing. ‘All the songs on this record are pretty much about mental health. This record is about my therapy sessions. I spent a year, well two years now, and this record was about me ending these sessions in therapy.’
The name “Black Guy Fawkes” originated over ten years ago, when Robinson was joking with a friend about Black anarchists. Guy Fawkes was, of course, one of the most famous anarchists in British history, and Robinson decided that he would adopt that moniker…with a minor modification. His backing band, The Co-Conspirators, are with him on this album and occasionally on tour. Over the past few years, his touring has expanded from local and regional music scenes in Maryland and nearby venues to national and international stages. He has supported bands as diverse as Dave Hause, Bad Cop Bad Cop, Pet Needs and The Spin Doctors.
The Misery Suite begins with “The Beginning of The End,” a bouncy, catchy tune that belies the underlying thread of self-doubt. Linh Le of Bad Cop, Bad Cop supplies strong support on “Fear of Faith,” which follows the thread of Robinson’s difficulties in knowing where to find hope during a time when his interpersonal struggles are clouding his faith and happiness.
“Little Black Storm Cloud” brings us through the repercussions of when you realise the people you thought you could count on decide to slide the blade in your back. ‘No matter what I do…it’s not enough for you…’ succinctly tells the story of what it’s like to get screwed over by the ones you least suspect.
It’s difficult to imagine what follows Robinson repeating James Baldwin’s famous quote: ‘To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.’ But with “Racial Battle Fatigue” the bones and the lyrics were pretty much all there, but something else felt missing, prompting Robinson to reach out to Angelo Moore of Fishbone, a California-based ska and punk band best known for their work in the period from 1979 through the mid-90s, for some finishing touches. Speaking with Robinson a while ago, he summed the song up thusly: ‘I don’t give a fuck anymore…I don’t care how I’m perceived, I don’t care how I am viewed, I care about protecting my people, protecting my skin, and speaking my truth. I’m nobody’s poster or “token boy,” I don’t want to be someone’s token Black friend, I don’t want to be viewed as this commodity, I want to be viewed just as me and if you view me as that or don’t like how I am, then fuck you I’ll have nothing to do with you anymore. So it’s just me reclaiming my voice and myself as a person at the end of the day.’
Lauren Kashan of Baltimore’s Sharptooth – a longtime friend of Robinson’s – provided the assist on “Glass Houses,” including the awesome scream. Also a product of his therapy sessions, “Glass Houses” requires one to confront one’s own internal struggles and doubts before they can heal…and must do so without throwing stones at other glass houses.
Despite the difficulties leading up to and identified through therapy and exhibited throughout the rest of “The Misery Suite,” Robinson exhorts his love for music as a healing talisman in “This Radio,” joined by Dave Hause, a longtime musical favourite of his. It’s definitely a banger that’ll leave the listener singing along after a couple of listens.
The album concludes with “Spotlight.” In a prior interview, Robinson says this song is ‘about your soul and going to hell.’ It’s clear from this song and this album that Black Guy Fawkes survived his ordeal and came through the other side with an understated masterpiece of work in “The Misery Suite.” (8/10)
