On their third album ‘Blindness,’ The Murder Capital explores the complexities of flawed patriotism and inherent human fallibility, while frontman James McGovern is resolute in facing – and even accepting – his own blind spots.
“I’ll probably try to take some cues from Leonard Cohen and his time in the monastery,” James McGovern starts, a faint smile breaking his serious demeanor. “I want to bring a monastic vibe to the tour, you know?” The Murder Capital's lead singer is in high spirits, assessing his readiness to embark on the band’s new chapter, tour, and the upcoming year. 2025: the year of ‘Blindness.’ After experiencing burnout from their extensive touring in 2023, the past year has been a period of renewal for the Dublin band in multiple aspects. Now scattered across Berlin, Letterkenny, London (where McGovern resides), and Dublin, the band’s time in the studio became more valuable and “focused” as they aimed to liberate themselves from the exhausting process that had defined their tours for 2023's second album, ‘Gigi’s Recovery.’ “On ‘Gigi…’, we demoed everything multiple times. Every detail was scrutinized,” he recalls. “On ‘Blindness’, we simply put the phone down and hit record… that transformed everything. Instead of searching for the fruit at the bottom of the crate, everything was right on top. Unbruised, untouched pieces of music.”
Always careful with his words, James’s metaphor is quite fitting. The explosive opener ‘Moonshot’ bursts forth with energy, echoing the band's post-punk origins, and you can almost feel the intensity of the live room in the lead single ‘Can’t Pretend To Know.’ The resonance of ‘Swallow’ is enough to bring tears to one’s eyes, while ‘The Fall’ grapples with humanity’s tendency to retreat and deny reality: “I can’t be told / I can’t be dressed / I can’t be held / I can’t be fed / I can’t be whipped.” “Those lines really represent an acknowledgment. Regardless of the support you have – and I’ve been fortunate to receive much from friends and family – you must make the final leap yourself,” he explains. “You can’t force someone into rehab or psychiatric help.
“Hopefully, we can eliminate the shame surrounding these issues. When you witness the terrible events occurring worldwide, unimaginable suffering has persisted for thousands of years. Struggles will always exist. Perhaps this access to our inner selves marks the beginning of progress, even if it takes centuries.”
“I think the day you believe you’re ‘complete’ is, ironically, possibly the day you begin to fade away.” — James McGovern
Facing personal truths openly is just one way ‘Blindness’ manifests throughout the album. The frontman tackles miscommunication in his own relationship with ‘Words Lost Meaning,’ while ‘Love Of Country’ dismantles a misguided sense of patriotism, weaponized through right-wing discourse (“Could you blame me for mistaking / Your love of country for hate of man”). The track was initially released on Bandcamp, with all proceeds benefiting Medical Aid For Palestine.
“It captures a more sinister aspect of how blind humanity can be,” James remarks. “When I see people in the comment sections labeling us as ‘antisemites,’ it’s a gross distortion of the reality. Irish President Michael D. Higgins delivered an excellent speech on this – conflating criticism of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu with antisemitism. People are blind to that because they’ve been conditioned with a narrow view of what Zionism entails.” “You can sense it now due to the situations in Palestine and Lebanon, but such occurrences have always been present,” he adds. “There are still active concentration camps in China today. Anti-Irish sentiment can still be felt in London, which is utterly absurd. I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it is – the whole notion of patriotism to the extent of ownership.”
“There is no limit to what you can observe in yourself, your community, and those around you.” — James McGovern
An entire species, intrinsically unaware of its own blind spots – it can all feel daunting. Yet, the questions and introspection The Murder Capital prompts throughout the album embrace the thoughts that have been “whirling around [their] subconscious.” Still, there’s a strength in recognizing what you can genuinely control along your personal journey. “It’s crucial for us to be gentle with ourselves,” he reflects. “We’re naturally built to overlook certain things. We wouldn’t be able to concentrate so intensely on various aspects of life and achieve remarkable societal advancements if we weren’t missing something simultaneously.
“In previous generations, people viewed personal growth as something finite, or at least that’s how it’s been conveyed over time. My generation – and those that follow – won’t accept that. There
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On their third album 'Blindness', The Murder Capital struggles with imperfect patriotism and inherent human mistakes, as frontman James McGovern aims to face and even accept his own blind spots.