Ken Woods and the Electrick Reckoning turn political disillusionment Into a funk-rock detonation on new single 'S.O.S.'

Ken Woods and the Electrick Reckoning come out swinging on 'S.O.S. (Same Old Sh!t)', a blistering collision of funk, rock and political frustration that turns years of pent-up disappointment into something sharp, theatrical and wildly enticing.

Where previous single 'Eyes Shut' leaned into something broader and more elegiac, 'S.O.S.' is far more direct. The groove is restless, the guitars bite harder, and his own rapid-fire delivery gives the song the feel of an argument that has been waiting far too long to happen.

Built around Joe Hoskin's bass, Steve Roberts' drums, Sam Woods' backing vocals and Ken Woods' guitar work, the track has a muscular, almost celebratory energy despite the anger underneath it. Funk-inflected rhythm and sophisticated harmonies stop the song becoming a blunt protest-rock exercise, while the guitar work gives everything an extra jolt of danger.

Lyrically, Woods directs his frustration towards what he sees as the unfulfilled promises of the Obama era, particularly in relation to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, inequality and political complacency. His argument is that a failure to confront those problems decisively helped create the conditions in which Donald Trump and MAGA later flourished. But whether listeners agree with every conclusion is almost beside the point.

What makes 'S.O.S.' so compelling is his willingness to aim criticism at figures he once supported. The song is driven by the belief that political loyalty should never cancel independent thought, and that anger at one side doesn't require silence about the failures of another.

Recorded between Fieldgate Studios in Wales and Andrew Road Music Room, and produced, engineered and mixed by Woods and Andrew Smillie, 'S.O.S.' offers a much clearer glimpse of the core sound behind forthcoming album 'American Catastrophe'.

If 'Eyes Shut' mourned the consequences of collective inaction, 'S.O.S.' kicks the door open and demands to know how we got there.