Glenn Echo asks how much a life is worth in "How Much Blood"

Gun violence, police brutality, refugee crises—scenes in the everyday life of people around the world, but especially in the United States. Glenn Echo looked at our collective desensitization of the cruel and brutal and wrote "How Much Blood".

As the concluding single to his upcoming album, Fixed Memory, it draws a direct parallel to the opening track, "Rising Wide-Eyed". The first track explores the wonder of just being alive—a stark contrast to "How Much Blood" asking what that life is even worth in today's society.

"How much blood we gonna spill to learn/ value of a life?" Matt Gaydar asks. His quiet question floats over pensive guitar picking, unanswered. It's not for him to answer; it's for us. We're all affected by this rising violence.

That mutual vulnerability and shared responsibility embed itself into the harmony. When the lyrics lament "I know I ain't worth all that much," the vocal harmony on the second "I" spreads, a wide chord encompassing all voices. It's a subtle plea for unity in an overt cry for peace.

Stream "How Much Blood" below.

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Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he's not writing for his supper, he's eating it at some of NYC's most interesting restaurants.