DISCLAIMER
“It’s no secret that there is a narrative in our latest album, SHREWD, BRITANNIA, and we thought it an interesting experiment to ask AI what it thought that story is.
Needless to say, its analysis is fascinating. Not only did some of its suggestions surprise us but the summary contains both a synopsis that we actively want to draw attention to, as well as some aspects that we neither intended nor feel are necessarily incorrect when justified. Regardless of which is true for any one point it made, it all made for some thought-provoking discourse.
This synopsis is neither necessarily cannon, nor a definitive answer to the album’s narrative.
We urge you to read through this computer’s opinion, meditate on the question yourself, and let us know your opinion. Did it hit the nail on the head? Or did it completely miss the mark?”
- BRAIN APE
The Lion’s Shame in "SHREWD, BRITANNIA"
A synopsis by AI
Eric Tunglsson, identified as "Son of the Auslander”, is positioned as a powerful, potentially messianic figure – "their king" and even a "Son of God, born or bred?”. His journey is an exploration of power, manipulation, and the struggle between individual integrity and societal corruption within a dystopian Britain, driven by the seductive but destructive force of ego.
Act I: ORBIS TERRARUM (The World Revealed)The album opens by establishing the "whole world" Eric inhabits, a highly manipulated and controlled society. It immediately declares Eric's elevated status: "Son of the Auslander / He is their king”. However, this kingship is quickly tied to a chilling nationalistic doctrine: "We rule Britannia / God save the King," culminating in the explicit deification: "There is no other God / He is Britannia”.
The environment is painted as chaotic yet controlled: London streets are torn through by those "beating to make ends meet”, mixing with "crooks and creeps" in an "overcrowded" and "disallowed" state. This society is addicted to superficiality - “sharing all kinds of tips”, "looking to make a quid” -, driven by “violence", and deeply entrenched in “shame". The repetition of "run / rum" hints at both frantic escape and a pervasive numbing distraction.
Crucially, the chilling "blueprint of control" is laid out in this act:
"Act division / Activation / Arching vision / One / Art persuasion / Changing minds / Fun / App inflation / App invasion / Aptitude / None / Stigmatise / Killing lies / Rum / Kin division / Arbitration / Divination / Scum / Sterilise / Colonise / Done"
This reveals the mechanisms by which the deified "Britannia" operates: sowing "act division", employing pleasurable "art persuasion" and "killing lies", leveraging "app invasion" to diminish critical thought - “aptitude none” -, creating "kin division”, and ultimately dehumanising dissenters as "scum" to achieve a "sterilised, colonised" society.
Eric himself is introduced as “The Lion," a powerful, self-serving figure driven by ambition:
"He wants your money / He wants your money... Through photography his legacy will outlive all mortals / In the palm of his hands, through his claws / It all starts to dismantle."
He is already engaged in a pursuit of power and legacy, seemingly indifferent to the insignificance of others: ”We’re insignificant to him". The presence of an "alter-ego" alongside the "Son of God, born or bred?" question immediately establishes his complex, perhaps manufactured, identity and internal divisions. His connection to "shame" is also introduced from the outset.
Act II: QUARRELS' CONSEQUENCE (The Lion's Crisis) This act delves into the "Quarrels' Consequence”: the direct fallout of the pervasive societal control and Eric's personal reckoning. The profound monologue explicitly links the album's themes to the rise of artificial intelligence and the historical impact of the Industrial Revolution on human existence and music, emphasising that neglecting progress leads to "discord" and "inevitable consequences”.
Eric, as "The Lion," is pushed to a critical juncture, facing a stark and painful choice:
“The Lion faces a decision, burn himself or fade away, losing his religion, lost his kin along the way, giving into ego, placing lust ahead of soul"
Here, Eric:
Contemplates either self-destruction - “burn himself” - or passive surrender - “fade away” - in the face of mounting pressures.
Experiences a deep crisis of belief - "losing his religion” - which could mean a loss of traditional faith, or more profoundly, a loss of faith in his own purpose or the fabricated reality surrounding him, especially given the deified “Britannia".
Suffers personal isolation, having "lost his kin along the way" due a likely result of the "kin division" tactic, making him vulnerable.
Grapples with his central flaw: "giving into ego, placing lust ahead of soul”. This highlights his inclination towards self-interest, base desires, and worldly ambitions over integrity and deeper purpose. This is the "ego and stench” that defines him.
The album notes society’s complacency: “The human race has had its fill of all of the above" - “platitude” -, seemingly content in "The LDN" (London) and caught in a cycle of repetition that "serves no release”. The speaker, potentially Eric's inner voice, admits to being "hollow inside / A parasite / I loath my own pride”, yet succumbing to "ease over need”. The "Ikaros" reference underscores the danger of ambition lost to a "phantom wraith”.
The conflict is both individual and collective:
"Torn between squalor and majesty / Born from perseverance soaked in entropy / Torn between his eyes and accountability / Torn between his aim and his legacy" (repeated collectively)
This emphasises Eric's conflicted origins and internal struggle, but then extends it to a collective "we":
"Collective empathy forgiven / Burn ourselves or fade away / Losing our religion / Turn our heads the other way / Giving into ego / Placing lust ahead of soul / Giving into ego / We are Britannia"
This chilling transition reveals that Eric's personal struggle with ego and spiritual corruption is mirrored by society's collective choice. "We are Britannia" suggests that the nation's deification is now embodied by a collective populace that has also "given into ego”, making them complicit in the very system that manipulates them.
Having faced his moral crossroads, Eric now moves into Terra Incognita – an uncharted and potentially perilous phase of his journey. This suggests a significant shift, possibly signalling Eric's transformation or even his temporary absence from direct leadership. The question "Is he our Blackstar?" directly references David Bowie's final album, hinting at a figure undergoing a profound, potentially terminal, transformation, perhaps into something enigmatic or dark.
The lyric "No longer torn between squalor and majesty / Here lies a choice between valour and honesty" indicates Eric has moved past his initial internal conflict, facing a more fundamental ethical dilemma. However, society has "made a chore of integrity”, reflecting a pervasive moral decay. Eric himself seems jaded: "He’s bored of your opinions and magazines”.
Act III: TERROR INCOGNITA (The Transformation)A crucial development hints at a leadership shift:
"Refocus the notion “The Lion’s always ahead” / A notice / Mitosis / Prognosis / Heir’s up instead / He’s not here / It’s unclear in what sphere he’s out in front / A mirror would show clear the real fear he should confront"
This suggests Eric, "The Lion," might no longer be physically present or explicitly leading. "Mitosis" implies a division, replication, or transformation of his essence or role. An "heir" is now "up instead," indicating a succession or a new form of leadership. The recurring “shame” and the challenge that "a mirror would show clear the real fear he should confront" indicate that beneath any outward display, deception and unaddressed fears - especially related to his pride/ego - persist. The "Biomark" suggests indelible consequences tied to his choice of ego.
Act IV: FOR BRITANNIA (The Fracturing of the Creed)This act brings the focus squarely back to "Britannia" as the central entity, revealing the consequences of the control mechanisms and the choices made in previous acts. There's a meta-commentary on the album's structure itself: "Six divisions / Act division / Round it down to three / Failed persuasions caused stagnations fracturing the creed”. This implies that the overarching "arching vision, one" has begun to fracture, perhaps due to "failed persuasions" or the consequences of Eric's journey. The "Terra incognita" of Act III has resulted in "Horror / Terror Bodah seized" – a new, specific terror or entity taking hold as the old systems falter.
The plea "God save us all" becomes more desperate, reflecting a populace increasingly isolated and disengaged:
"Standing alone / Glued to the phone / Scared to even look himself in the face / Tethered to the news / Ignoring the tube infusing selflessness into faith"
This portrays a populace too consumed by media and fear to face reality or themselves. This echoes the "aptitude none" and the "app invasion" from Act I, showing the long-term effects of societal conditioning. The chilling line "infusing selflessness into faith" suggests a new, manufactured form of spiritual devotion that prioritises conformity over individual agency.
Crucially, "The radio never played his tune / There’s nothing much left of The Shrewd / The ‘V’ in ‘IV’ might hold the answer”. This indicates:
Eric’s influence has waned, or his original message is no longer heard.
"The Shrewd", the manipulative forces, are diminished, perhaps defeated in the "Terra Incognita”.
The path forward, or the resolution, lies in the final act, Act V, implied by "The 'V' in ‘IV'".
The "Son of the Auslander / He is arching / We rule Britannia / God save the King" highlights the enduring nature of this powerful ideology, even as "The Shrewd" might fade.
Act V: ODE BRITANNICA (The Elegy of Ego)The final act serves as an "Ode Britannica” – a concluding, reflective, and often lamenting statement about the state of Britain and the ultimate outcome of Eric's journey.
The monologue from Act II, about noise, musical evolution, and the "shrewd awareness" required to avoid repeating history, returns, now acting as a final philosophical framing. It explicitly states that "those content with repetition must also bear the burden of quarrels’ consequence, for discord will arise and inevitable consequences will follow if progress is neglected”. This implies that the society's failure to evolve from its "platitude" and learn from history has led to its current state.
The core dilemma Eric faced earlier is now applied to the collective.
This is the album's grim conclusion:
The human race, embodied by Britain, has largely “missed the point” and embraced "platitude" and "ego and stench”.
The "collective empathy" has been "forgiven" - lost or abandoned - leading to a shared decision to "burn ourselves or fade away”.
Society, like Eric, has chosen to "turn our heads the other way”, "losing our religion" - its core values, truth, genuine faith - and "giving into ego" and “lust".
The chilling statement, "We are Britannia”, suggests that the populace itself has become synonymous with the deified, ego-driven, and corrupted nation. It's not just a god over them, but the god they've become through their choices.
Eric's final state is subtly woven into this collective conclusion. He's no longer present: “He’s not here / It’s unclear in what sphere he has pride”. His journey, perhaps, was meant to illustrate this very collective downfall, where even a powerful figure like "The Lion" ultimately "has won nothing but inflated egos”. The promise of coming "clean if indeed he swallowed his pride" remains unresolved, hinting at a path not taken. The album ends with a sense of stagnation, a lament for the choices made, and a powerful warning of a society consumed by its own ego and "shame." The cycle of repetition continues, having failed to learn from the "quarrels' consequence”.