BuStEd! ThE pReSiDeNt MyTh | Sound of Pen

THE PRESIDENT MYTH BUSTED

When the much-hyped PRESIDENT made their live debut at Download Festival earlier this year, they told us it was the beginning of: “the inauguration”. But the inauguration of what? Doesn’t the word ‘inauguration’ imply the start of a policy or a system – something of genuine importance? What is PRESIDENT’s policy? What kind of system are they campaigning for? A lot of the language the band make use of, such as ‘rallies’ and ‘broadcast’, seems token. There’s an emptiness, a hollowness, to those words that should make us feel uneasy.

You might note that it’s the same kind of language used by FEVER 333, but with Jason Aalon Butler’s outfit, it’s easy to see how important their message is – and also that they are actually broadcasting and rallying: their mission is to oppose social inequality, capitalism and authoritarianism and to stand instead for community, charity and change. It’s a standpoint heavily influenced by their own experiences of racism and poverty. FEVER 333 are absolutely set on drawing our attention to the things we as a people should be trying to change.

What, then, are PRESIDENT actually asking us to look more closely at? Are their rallies really rallies? What are the band encouraging us to protest against or to show support for? There’s no denying that ‘In The Name Of The Father’ made for a scintillating debut single – after listening to it, we certainly feel pumped up. But what do PRESIDENT want us to do with that energy? It’s unclear. There’s no denying the slickness of the project – it feels important. But is it actually?

In truth, the masked group’s first headline gig at London’s Garage did nothing to suggest so. Which, on some level, is fine. Music doesn’t have to have a message of great political or social weight. But it’s difficult to avoid the sense that PRESIDENT’s appeal is built in some way on the promise that listeners will be given a serious lesson. Otherwise, why all the talk of ‘rallies’ and suchlike? If that vocabulary has only been chosen to convey a sense of social value that PRESIDENT’s music does not really possess, it feels – at best – disappointing. At worst, though, and particularly when considered in the light of FEVER 333’s work, it starts to look a bit like appropriation.

Jason Aalon Butler’s output has been sharpened by a life of oppression and he has worked relentlessly to find the tools that will best help him articulate a response to the violence and exploitation he has personally experienced or witnessed. And, okay, it could be argued that PRESIDENT have ‘borrowed’ those tools so that their music sounds equally impactful and important – musicians magpie ideas all the time and usually that is more than fine because each song, however it’s been inspired, serves as another thread in a musical tapestry that ultimately speaks for the shared nature of human existence.

In this case, though, it doesn’t feel quite so fine. Rather, it feels – if we don’t want to go quite as far as accusing PRESIDENT of cultural appropriation – like a sign of the times. In 2025, we live too much on the surface of things and PRESIDENT’s music feeds into that habit. The band look cool – like Slipknot looked cool when they first arrived on the scene and even like Sleep Token looked cool when they turned up more recently – but is there anything underneath PRESIDENT’s costumes that deserves our attention in the way that Slipknot’s nihilism or Sleep Token’s world-building deserved our attention? Charlie Simpson’s devastating, Siren-like vocals may hook us all in, but perhaps we should pay closer attention to the fact that he’s singing about “fantasies” and “fables”. PRESIDENT are an illusion.

ACTIVITY 1

Write a piece in which you challenge our understanding of (or another character’s understanding of) a particular character. For example, you could argue that Iago is not the honest individual so many take him to be, or you could construct an article that persuades us Blanche is not the problem she is so often perceived to be – or maybe you could write an article in which you challenge the way in which some characters might think about young working-class boys and men in ‘Blood Brothers’.

You could:

Start by referring to a specific moment that made you question the way lots of people looked at this character: ‘When…”
Use a succession of words that mean a similar thing but really double-down on the point you’re making, for example: “There’s an emptiness, a hollowness…”
Highlight a reason why people might hold the opposite opinion to you: “You might note…”
Summarise why that reasoning is incorrect.
A paragraph articulating the key questions, rhetorical or not, interspersed with short, cutting sentences.
Clarify the best (but still bad!) way in which you think the character’s actions could be interpreted – and then segue into the worst possible interpretation of those same actions.
Come up with a catchy title and closing line that point towards the main message of your article.

The PRESIDENT Myth Busted

When the much-hyped PRESIDENT made their live debut at Download Festival earlier this year, they told us it was the beginning of: “the inauguration”. But the inauguration of what? Doesn’t the word ‘inauguration’ imply the start of a policy or a system – something of genuine importance? What is PRESIDENT’s policy? What kind of system are they campaigning for? A lot of the language the band make use of, such as ‘rallies’ and ‘broadcast’, seems token. There’s an emptiness, a hollowness, to those words that should make us feel uneasy.

You might note that it’s the same kind of language used by FEVER 333, but with Jason Aalon Butler’s outfit, it’s easy to see how important their message is – and also that they are actually broadcasting and rallying: their mission is to oppose social inequality, capitalism and authoritarianism and to stand instead for community, charity and change. It’s a standpoint heavily influenced by their own experiences of racism and poverty. FEVER 333 are absolutely set on drawing our attention to the things we as a people should be trying to change.

In truth, the masked group’s first headline gig at London’s Garage did nothing to suggest so. Which, on some level, is fine. Music doesn’t have to have a message of great political or social weight. But it’s difficult to avoid the sense that PRESIDENT’s appeal is built in some way on the promise that listeners will be given a serious lesson. Otherwise, why all the talk of ‘rallies’ and suchlike? If that vocabulary has only been chosen to convey a sense of social value that PRESIDENT’s music does not really possess, it feels – at best – disappointing. At worst, though, and particularly when considered in the light of FEVER 333’s work, it starts to look a bit like appropriation.

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