Robert Jordan takes Plato’s allegory of the cave and turns it into a rock song. “Plato’s Cave,” released September 21st, comes from Morning Sun, his third album, and Jordan treats the cave as a metaphor for finding a way out of ignorance. Its message is simple: wake up, don’t be afraid of the light, and use reason as your guide out of the dark. The Boulder, Colorado artist says the idea behind it is the “pure idea of love, music, and dance,” and he names Plato, Lou Reed, and the Waterboys as influences. By his own account, what sets the single apart is its great rock hooks and enthusiasm, along with some joyous, improvised vamping that gives it a lived-in feel.
This song carries such an incredible wholesome energy. You can still learn and experience things and grow; there is always potential to do and be more. Do things, go out in nature, yes. We should all listen to the beautiful message of this song. I think the message really does work because of the musical framing; the textures here are very playful and almost childlike in their beauty.
Everything on the recording was played by David Snider, the multi-instrumentalist producer who worked with Jordan in Boulder, which Jordan singles out as the main point of interest in how it was made. He names Snider and vocalist Rebecca Abraxas as the key contributors on the project, and “Plato’s Cave” follows his earlier albums, Time Will Tell and Vincent and Theo, and the Q&A mentions no upcoming performances to highlight for now. For a song built on an idea this old, it keeps its feet firmly in rock and its eyes on the present.
