The title of Chevelle‘s new album, NIRATIAS, is an acronym for “Nothing Is Real and This Is a Simulation.” That feeling of being stuck in a world you don’t recognize is apparent in the lead single “Self Destructor,” in which frontman Pete Loeffler sings, “They don’t care what the science says.”

Eerily, Loeffler wrote that lyric before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“It stems from a conversation I had with someone, and they were just largely a huge science-denier,” Loeffler tells ABC Audio. “It’s funny how that works, because it was written in 2019, way before any of us saw COVID being a possibility.”

Of course, trust in the science and medical community has become an overarching talking point amid the pandemic.

“When I wrote it, I didn’t know it was gonna be delivered right now,” Loeffler says. “And I didn’t know that it was gonna be as polarizing as it probably will be this year, with the vaccine rollout and all that.”

In general, Loeffler feels that NIRATIAS was influenced by “the last four years.” Take the song “Peach,” for example, which Loeffler says is about certain “authority figures” who’ve said “horrible” things about women.

“Without saying his name, it’s probably pretty obvious if people read into it,” Loeffler shares.

“I think it’s got a good message at the end,” he adds of “Peach.” “I’m making fun of someone who I find disgusting in their behavior.”

NIRATIAS is out now.

By Josh Johnson
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