Paul Devine is a wordsmith, a musician, a composer, a scholar, a historian and at heart a humanitarian. The single “Leader of the Free World” (2024) has been born from the stark reality that Donald Trump might win the next North American election, even though he tried to usurp the White House in a coup in front of the whole world and equally is one of the most sexist and slimy humans in the public eye, that has absolutely no remorse for anything he does or says.

The thrumming bass and Devine’s snarled punk vocals, sneer at the propaganda of making America great again through guns, extreme Christianity and perversion of laws. He is the leader of the free world is the sing song chant, because in the end, it as all a joke. Angry guitars and booming drums highlight the truths of how backwards things have become as women have lost rights to their own bodies and racial tension overwhelming.

Not that I think this sounded wholly like The Clash, but I think Joe Strummer is probably sitting somewhere with a smile on his dial. “Leader of the Free World” takes no prisoners and tell no lies. This is a protest, taking a stand against a rising tide of misogyny and intolerance, in the hopes that history does not repeat itself, plus it is an ace song.

Leader of the Free World (2024) | Paul Devine (bandcamp.com)