I’ve liked Faith and the Muse for awhile now, long before I knew they were political people. Then, a couple years ago, I went to Convergence (a gothic festival) in Portland, hoping to meet political goths. The first night, I ran across a punk guy with a mohawk and a circle-a “support the ALF” shirt, so I started to talk to him. I found out he was in a band, I asked what band, he said “faith and the muse.” I asked if Faith and the Muse was political, and he said “well, I am.” I assumed that he was a hired guitarist or something… goth bands often hire more punk-looking folks as their extra musicians. Then, the next day, I saw them play, and I realized it had been William Faith himself. He did the anarcho-punk talking between songs thing, and he mentioned their permaculture animal sanctuary that they run outside of LA, Ars Terra.

Most of Faith and the Muse’s songs are more sort of soft/flowing gothic-rock or neo-folk or whatever. A more representative song of their style is probably Annwyn, Beneath The Waves and of course, I’m in love with their cover of Running Up That Hill, because it’s the best song ever written and they do a wonderful job with it.

Earlier this year, I went to WGT, a gothic festival in Leipzig, Germany, and saw them play again. William introduced this song with an impassioned speech about how, at last, we could be around one another, we could be something other than freaks. That these were the moments that mattered. Somehow, he did a decent job of turning a ridiculously large concert hall into a basement DIY show, and I love him for that.

lyrics behind the cut.

Faith and the Muse: Sovereign

Between the world and the one inside
The truth you speak and the one you hide
Some stolen moments and a struggle within

Behind the pain and the sacrifice
Behind the mask and the grey disguise
How many angels dancing on the head of a pin?

There’s a meeting at the midnight hour
Come alive and seize your power
Giving sight to the blind
We are one of a kind
So welcome here
Tonight

In the presence of a moment divine
As the shadows gather at the shrine
We retreat and advance
In the spell of the dance
Familiars all
Tonight

Before the mirror but behind the veil
Within the box but beyond the pale
The narrow margin peering down into the abyss

Believe in you and the flame within
Your real face, your second skin
Your soul immortal, radiant and given to bliss

Come out, come out wherever you hide
Time to stand and walk with pride
There’s a look in your eye
I could never deny
And it means the world
Tonight

Caught within a second sublime
Like the nail through the hands of time
There’s a tale told bizarre
That’s behind every scar
And I’m yours, all ears
Tonight

Your flashing eyes
Lay bare your soul
For all to see

Your beating heart
In time with mine
There’s only you and me

Because we now have the eyes to see
That we are sovereign, true and free
Free to play our future like the beat of a drum

Because we now hold our heads up high
Because their judgment we decry
Brothers and sisters
Thy kingdom come