GODMOTHER Rides the ‘Escalator to Nothingness’ in “No Kidding” (premiere)

Summer has come and gone, but it went out with a self-reflective bang in the form of GODMOTHER’s self-titled LP. Having released via New Pangea on the last day of the season—21 September—the Berlin-based artist poeticizes a philosophical, hearty laugh in the face of death on their latest. Invoking an idiosyncratic blend of organic and electronic elements to convey this message, GODMOTHER’s Joey Hansom has their most captivating collection of music on their hands to date. Wholly non-linear and atmospheric in scope, it’s a good-humored and fearless dive into dystopia.

‘No Kidding’ is one such tune from off of GODMOTHER’s latest. Rather than specifically lay out the groundwork for a dystopian future as other works may, the song is more about the atrocities we’ve already committed unto nature as an overarching population. The solution is a dark proposition on the one hand, and an unnervingly natural moment of clarity on the other. As Hansom themselves put it, “‘No Kidding’ is no ‘Stairway to Heaven’ – it’s an escalator to nothingness.”

Hansom also tells PopMatters, “Climate change, nuclear war… Instead of worrying about the collapse of human civilization, why don’t we beat it to the punch and just let ourselves die off? Isn’t there something poetic about that? The world doesn’t need more bodies. Even the Ancient Greeks knew that the only way to avoid death was to avoid birth. The Simpsons is starting its 30th season at the end of this month. Think about the decline in quality – and then think about how many seasons we humans have been around! Anyway, we’re at Generation Z now, aren’t we? This song is about knowing when it’s time to leave the party.”