Singing about social genocide

Songs from the great pains

Minneapolis alt-rock band Themes tells the Native American story many historians miss[D]on't be surprised that you haven't heard of Themes' homage to reservation plight "War Over the Great Plains."

The album by the Minneapolis alt-rock band, which plays Nutty's North Friday night, is something that needs to be heard by any music fan living in states with heavy Native American history.

Echoing the pathos and passion many feel over this chapter in U.S. history, "War Over the Great Plains" plays like a summation of cultural struggle in a divided world.

Told through moody alt-rock paced by melancholic piano, pensive rhythms and male/female vocal counterpoint, the music doesn't attempt to mimic traditional tribal rhythms. But it does carry the spirit of a land and culture that's still suffering from a social genocide.