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Dead Pioneers, the indigenous punk rock band from Denver, have never been afraid to use their art as a vehicle to express their beliefs and anger at the current political landscape in America. Over two albums – their self-titled debut in 2023 and ‘PO$T AMERICAN’ from earlier this year, the band have concocted a unique blend of spoken word, hypnotic post-rock and punk roots that has quickly caught the imagination of music fans searching for something new, something real and a band with something to say.

Dead Pioneers have now returned with a new single that is perhaps their most enraged work to date. ‘Freedom Means Something’ was recorded at the same time as ‘PO$T AMERICAN’, but didn’t make the album at the time, yet despite being written over a year ago, it captures the political and social moment of the United States and the anger, fear and vitriol that comes in policy changes and egregious decisions being made by this current administration.

“It was one of a few pieces we did that didn’t make the album cut at the time,” clarifies frontman Gregg Deal. “It wasn’t an issue of good or not, so much as curating our second record to something that made sense. We are so pleased to be releasing this piece now. Much like our second record, we wrote for the moment and didn’t expect the message of the music to be more relevant to what is currently happening here. We stand by our message, politically, socially and culturally, in hopes for change. These statements are meant to be in the moment of recognizing that there are those among us, the most vulnerable, that will be the first to feel the effects of what we can only call oppressive. It is our moral duty and obligation to say the quiet thing out loud in an effort to use the medium of music to provide another way to hear ideas that stand in opposition of policies that align with the principles of white supremacy and fascism and nazi ideology, undermining the basic principles of freedom. We hope you see this in Freedom Means Something.”

“We will tar and feather you with your money and prepare you for your place in the annals of historical genocide. Amidst the nationalistic maniacs that destroy families and land, and legacy and truth and decency. Your end is near,” says Gregg in the song’s closing verse. It’s powerful, intense and righteous.