Paul Cargnello Rages Against Silence on 'Combat Blues' -- A Battle Cry for the Apathetic Age

"Protest Song" YouTube and Spotify

"Fascists In Our Midst" YouTube and Spotify

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MONTREAL, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "What happened to the protest singer?" asks Paul Cargnello on the searing opening single of his new album, and it's not rhetorical. With his 20th album, Combat Blues', out now on Quartier General, the Montreal-based singer-songwriter and producer is back with a defiant, groove-laced, politically charged collection that refuses to look away. Think The Clash filtered through Curtis Mayfield with a jolt of Gil Scott-Heron. This is protest music for people who aren't done fighting.

'Combat Blues' isn't here to make you comfortable. It's here to shake you awake. "This record is about speaking truth when it's easier to whisper," explains Cargnello. "We're watching the world burn through our screens, and we've forgotten how to yell. This is me yelling."

Opening track "Protest Song," written, composed, and produced by Cargnello, is a funk-punk anthem aimed squarely at the armchair activists and a gut-punch to the music industry's obsession with apolitical vibes.  Then there's "Fascists In Our Midst," a no-holds-barred reggae-rock detonation featuring Tuff Gong's own Jonathan Emile, who co-wrote the lyrics with Cargnello and delivers a scathing verse in patois that takes aim at white supremacy, political manipulation, and spineless centrism.

Recorded and mixed by Cargnello at Upper China Studios, and mastered by Grammy-winner Adam Ayan (Bruce Springsteen, Lana Del Rey), 'Combat Blues' also features: James Challenger on backup vocals and bass, Frantz Calestin Jr. on drums, Jasmine Beile on backup vocals, and Jonathan Emile as featured vocalist. Every note is steeped in resistance. Every lyric is a call to act.

Paul Cargnello has never played by the rules. From his 90s political punk days with The Vendettas to Top 10 francophone hits and his celebrated NDG Arts Week, he's spent the last two decades defying industry trends and forging community through sound. Whether writing theme songs for the Montreal Fringe Festival, collaborating with KRS-One and Maxi Priest, or penning verses for Dawson's Creek, Paul's motto remains the same: Lyrics matter. And so does showing up.

Shout it loud. Turn it up. Take it to the streets.

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SOURCE Paul Cargnello