Johb Ashar is an independent composer and musician from Melbourne, and “Woe To You,” released October 30th, draws on Christ’s denunciations of hypocrisy. The art-rock, progressive-rock single is built around powerful electric guitars and a deliberately uncompromising atmosphere, and it asks about the distance between what we profess to believe and how we treat suffering people. Ashar’s own pitch is that this is not conventional religious music, and that it is designed to challenge rather than reassure.
This is a song that really takes its time with setting up its atmosphere, and for a good reason in my opinion. Musically, I really enjoyed the production and the note choices of the atmospheric intro; it specifically felt very otherworldly and dissonant. If the song is going to tackle such heavy subjects, it should lull you and ease you into its world and biblical message. The narrative takes us through our apathy towards our fellow men; we can’t just feel bad for the less fortunate or those who are exploited; we have to actively take action because God will hold us accountable; we will be treated fairly for being selfish and only acting for our own self interest.
Ashar’s wider catalogue ranges from the large-scale work The Requiem to confrontational guitar-driven pieces and quieter reflections on human suffering, moving between progressive rock, art rock, orchestral composition and choral music. His themes include grief, faith, judgment, mercy and redemption, drawing on biblical imagery and literature, and, by his own description, the music resists easy classification and comfortable conclusions. For listeners who like progressive rock with something to say, “Woe To You” is a good place to start.
