A Storm You Can’t Look Away From

“Someday,” the opening track from The Empire Fell Down, hits like a clenched fist wrapped in velvet. Portugal-based duo Elderly White Man doesn’t ease listeners in, they throw us straight into the pulse of a crumbling world, and somehow make it sound beautiful. There’s a sharp tension in the way this song moves, the rhythm carrying a sense of urgency while the production stays hauntingly deliberate.

What’s striking is how the band balances chaos with control. The instrumentation feels raw yet calculated, like resistance set to a metronome. Each beat lands with purpose, the guitars snarling just enough to keep you uneasy, while the vocals hover between defiance and despair. You can almost picture the city they’re describing, military shadows crossing cracked streets, voices rising where silence once ruled.

But “Someday” isn’t all doom. Beneath the darkness runs a quiet thread of hope, the kind that refuses to die even when everything else has. That’s what makes it so gripping, it’s protest music without slogans, emotion without melodrama. It reminds you that resistance can sound elegant, even fragile.

As the first glimpse into The Empire Fell Down, “Someday” proves Elderly White Man has evolved into something fierce and fearless. It’s the sound of a democracy gasping for air and daring to sing anyway.