The album starts with “American Dream” which is about both the wealth gap (and control the extremely wealthy have over the population) and the growing political activism and interest we’re seeing in the youth of this nation. The last few lines of vocals are a back and forth betweent the older and younger generations, where we’re seeing some of the older generation blaming the “youth” for everything that is wrong. The older generation mockingly says “you don’t know what you’re missing” while the younger essentially says “you’ve had your chance, all of this is on you, now it’s our turn to make a difference.” This song could really be seen as being sung from our “main character” as he expresses his feelings about those in power trying to tell the rest of us how to live despite them being entirely out of touch with common needs and desires.
Revenue is a pretty straight forward anthem for workers. This song focuses on the everyday worker and scenarios they face. For instance, they could be cut at a moments notice if it means saving executives bonuses. It also features the workers response, and the ability for the common man to see through these lies but be seemingly helpless to do anything about it. In this song the character faces the reality that he is being let go for no other reason that to line the pockets of the board members.
“Returning to nothing” is a sequel of sorts to Revenue, where the character is now out of work thanks to the previous song’s actions, and is coming to grips with that reality. It shows him waiting for his unemployment check, and the hurdles that come with that, as well as dealing with the financial difficulties of this position. While some of it was down to poor decisions on his part, it can also be seen as a commentary on the predatory nature of big banks and their lending practices. It also shows him recognizing that love is the driving force for mankind, and that with love he can be part of a change for the better.
The Company of Wolves shows our character hearing words spouted from both sides of the political aisle. Chris and Ben alternate vocals here to represent both sides, and include references to things like the ever common “fact check” request as well as both sides stating they are fighting for the good of mankind despite the others best efforts. The “chorus” of both of these songs is simply the line, from both sides, asking the question to the character: Who do you believe in now? The song ends with the character questioning both sides and perhaps even hinting that maybe neither side will be responsible for this country changing and becoming “home” again.
The last song on the album is the character recognizing the materialistic desires that we’re seeing in part of the younger generation, and wondering if he’ll be able to escape it and help others in the process. It calls back to the “If all you have is love” part of Returning to Nothing and states that empty words and actions are useless if we want to see a change in the world.
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