TELL spark the flame of resistance rock with ‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’
Boston alt-rock band harness their vitriol with a fervid protest song that pushes back against a fascist takeover.
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ / Bandcamp / Spotify
TELL and director Rick Berlin invite the public to the official music video shoot
at Lowell’s Warp & Weft on Sunday, November 23 at 4 p.m.
Watch ‘Boiling The Ocean’ x Listen to ‘Sweet Proximity’
More music from TELL recorded with Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios out in 2026
BOSTON, Mass. [November 21, 2025] – Just after the 2024 presidential election, as a lingering stench of fascism boiled to society’s surface and an instantly suffocating sense of hopelessness and dread washed over those on the right side of history, Boston music scene veteran Rick Berlin sent out an email to friends, family and colleagues trying to calm a collective nerve. Atop the email was the subject line: “When it’s dark, make art.”
A year later, that simple message – albeit with a lyrical twist – is at the core of TELL’s confrontational new single, a punchy protest song of harnessed vitriol that’s both a call-to-action and fervid dose of sonic fury titled “Things To Do When It’s Dark.” Dubbed “resistance rock” by the Boston alt-rock band, the track is set for streaming release on Friday, November 21.
While making art has been at the forefront of TELL’s creativity in their short few years as a band, unleashing fiery rock and roll anthems rife with political and cultural critique, the climactic and cathartic release of the track’s chorus and outro shifts the narrative to a more active and aggressive rallying cry: “When it gets dark / We’ll make it ours / We’ll take back our city.”
Never a band to shy away from forceful visibility in the face of oppression, TELL take “Things To Do When It’s Dark” to the stage for the open-to-the-public, all-are-welcome music video shoot and rally, going down at Warp and Weft in Lowell on Sunday, November 23 at 4 p.m. The band urges everyone to bring signs, hats, wild clothing and so on. Berlin, who first inspired the track nearly one year ago, is back behind the camera as video director a few months after creating the video for the band’s April single “Boiling The Ocean.”
“I wrote ‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ right after the horrific election,” says TELL vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist David Wildman. “I was traumatized and the only way I could deal with it was to write a song. I had lyrics in the verse that were kind of a screed about what Trump is going to do to our country, and I finished the song quickly. I’ve since rewritten the lyrics with more of a narrative approach. …Meanwhile, not unpredictably, things got much worse in the country. By the time we started working on it, ‘making art’ just seemed a little mild for what was going on.”
Now TELL, rounded out in the fearless foursome by Jim Foster (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason Raffi (bass), and Pat Crann (drums), are providing a soundtrack, taking a stand against the cruelty and insanity of the current administration.
“What we’re saying is something that is shared by the vast majority of people in this country,” adds Wildman. “And we are trying to send people a message to rally around, and give them a feeling of hope and empowerment. It’s why we like to think of what we’re doing as ‘resistance rock’. And by far we’re not the only ones. It seems to be a movement happening with a lot of great bands locally. It won’t be long before it breaks nationally.”
“Things To Do When It’s Dark” tells an ominous tale we can all identify with, laced with dark humor. The verses are in 7/4 time, like Pink Floyd’s “Money”, to give a slightly unsettling sense that reflects how we’re all feeling these days. But what starts out as threatening quickly gives way to a cathartic explosion of sound and a sing-along chorus. The band knows that the more people come together to sing as one, the greater chance we have in fending off the atrocities of our government.
And TELL hope it inspires – not just at their shows or video shoots, but along any avenue that helps inspire change.
“It’s a rallying cry for everyone to speak up and make their voices heard,” says Foster. “It’s a call for unity and empowerment in the face of a fascist threat. I hope people feel inspired to attend a rally, write a song, do a dance, write a poem, paint a picture… to just express themselves and feel part of a powerful movement.”
Produced by Wildman and recorded and mixed by engineer Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts in early November, “Things To Do When It’s Dark” furthers TELL’s creative boundaries into exciting new avenues.
Earlier this year, the band released a pair of companion singles, the follow-ups to 2023 debut album Life In Reverse, which had references to Ivermectin and MAGA in its lyrics. The first arrived in March with the searing and anthemic “Sweet Proximity,” a song about the drastic sound of society falling apart and what Crann dubbed “the growing futility of existence,” and then the following month, through the hypnotic and slow-burning “Boiling The Ocean,” which tackled frustrations with art’s unsteady place on the internet.
“Things To Do When It’s Dark” perhaps finds a sonic middle ground between the two, its kinetic forward motion grounded with heavy hypnotic kick drum precision, almost like the sense of calm one feels sitting still on a rollercoaster as the car swirls and twirls at breakneck speed. TELL’s sound has always bridged a gap between arena-ready ‘90s-era alternative and the dire post-punk sound of the late-’70s, and while the prior efforts barreled along with a punk rock ethos and a prog rock mindfulness, this new one is a whole new beast entirely.
“I know we actively try to push ourselves to constantly evolve,” Raffi notes. “But the messages in each song are definitely important and I think something we collectively share.”
With the message of “Things To Do When It’s Dark” acting as very bold and unflinching, its corresponding music video must follow suit. Warp and Weft have donated the room to the band for the shoot, and Indivisible Lowell, the group that organized Lowell’s No Kings rally, are helping get out the word. The band encourages all who attend to be part of the video and bring signs and other protest gear or attire.
“The video follows the lyrics, and tells the story of a musician terrified about the news that Trump is preparing to invade the city,” Wildman reveals. “He hides in bed with his phone and guitar at his side. Then he gets a call telling him to snap out of it and go to the rally. He gets in his car but it won’t start, so he has to run there, holding his guitar. Along the way he sees some ICE agents throw one of his friends in a car, and then they come after him, but he escapes.”
Wildman continues: “He arrives at the rally, which is at Warp and Weft, but the ICE agents show up and follow him inside. Then he’s onstage with the band playing the last part of the song, and when they get to the sing-along ending people get up onstage to join in, and the ICE agents get up there and sing as the song fades out.”
It’s an intense visual, but intense times call for intense art. And TELL are not afraid to put their art out there for all to see, feel, and understand.
“I think at this point it’s like we’ve got nothing to lose,” Wildman says with a grin and a shrug. “We’re all headed for Alligator Alcatraz anyway. Truth is, some of us are a little nervous about it, but we’ve agreed to take a stand and make our voice known. When I originally wrote the song I was a bit leery of poking the bear, but I was quite willing to take the chance. As things got darker and darker and people started fighting back, and then the second No Kings rally, it seemed like something we had to get out there.”
The fight continues long after the single release and video shoot. Following the release of “Things To Do When It’s Dark” to the streams, the video will soon follow suit. TELL then return to Warp and Weft on January 23, which also happens to be Crann’s birthday, and then play The Midway in Jamaica Plain on February 7. More new TELL tracks will be released on the early side of 2026, as well.
With each single, with each video, with each live show, TELL are getting louder and louder. But they also know they are just one band, and just four dudes who, like everyone else, are entirely sick of the bullshit that plagues our daily existence right now.
“I’ve often wondered how I would respond in a moment such as this, and none of us can remain silent despite the fraught atmosphere,” Foster says. “Recording this song has really got me thinking about the social power of music to transform society and drive positive change. The whole idea of ‘protest songs’ perhaps seems hopelessly quaint and dated in 2025, and I’m sure there are those who would say the idea of driving social change through song is a laughable relic of another more innocent era.”
But when it gets dark, sometimes there’s simply nothing to do but create art, which often acts as vibrant color to fascism’s brooding grayscale.
“I’m a big believer in the power of music; protest songs inspired the Labor and Civil Rights movements to achieve monumental victories in the USA, and I believe ‘Resistance Rock’ could remain a vital force,” Foster concludes. “And ‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ is not exactly Peter, Paul & Mary earnestly huddled around a microphone with an acoustic guitar. Hopefully it speaks to the moment with the passion and conviction we all feel right now in a more contemporary and forceful musical setting.”
TELL is:
Jim Foster: Lead guitar, backing vocals
David Wildman: Guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
Jason Raffi: Bass
Pat Crann: Drums
‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ production credits:
Words and music by David Wildman
Produced by David Wildman
Recorded and mixed by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, MA
between November 4 and 9, 2025
Music video directed by Rick Berlin
TELL press photo by Dan Saltzman
‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ artwork:
‘Things To Do When It’s Dark’ lyrics:
Soon they’ll come, they are near
While I hide beneath the covers out of fear
Safe with my iPhone screen
While they build an army to take everything
Wish I chose a different road
‘Cause this place feels like it’s gonna explode
Jackboots coming closer now
And I’m feeling all alone as shit goes down
Then my old friend calls again, his name is Scam Likely
He says don’t stay alone, better head out to the rally
But got a dead car have to walk though its far
With my guitar beside me
They’ve arrived with no names
Shiny boots and masks to hide all their shame
They pull my friends into their trucks
Man I hate anyone that voted for these fucks
And now the time has come to, shout it out loud
They’re nothing but thugs with guns, and we’ve got massive crowds
We’re holding our heads up high, they can’t stop our words and music
We’ve got our sense of what’s right, and we know how to use it
When it gets dark
We’ll make it ours
We’ll take back our city
When it gets dark
We’ll make it ours
We’ll take back our country
When it gets dark
We’ll make it ours
We’ll take back democracy
When it gets dark
We’ll make it ours
We’ll make it ours
We’ll make it ours…
Media praise for TELL:
“This week’s tranquil tunes end here. Boston band TELL’s new song ‘Sweet Proximity’ is a swaggering rock rager that stamps its feet to outburst of guitar. The alt-rock melee conveys a waning sense of patience, as it dances dangerously close to the line between grinning and bearing it, and straight-up insanity.” _Boston Globe
“...especially feisty…” _Rock And Roll Fables
“It is crystal clear that TELL isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, and this definitely is the case with ‘Boiling The Ocean.’” _The Whole Kameese
“Boston’s TELL are back with a new single, and you’re going to want to buckle up for this one. ‘Sweet Proximity’ keeps the trademark TELL sound that we love, somewhere between gritty early 80's alternative that lives in the space between punk and New Wave, and mid 90's arena ready alt-rock. The guitars in this one remind me of bands like Mission of Burma and Sonic Youth in their distortion that is almost meant to repel you, but ‘Sweet Proximity’ is also unexpectedly catchy. Add in just a little 70's style glam, and TELL have themselves a killer alt-rocker on their hands. This is the type of sound that should be huge, but the universe would never allow for that.” _If It’s Too Loud
“[Sweet Proximity’] has nail biting tension that emanates from the lyrics that seem clear but then they don’t. All you know is that things are not right. …We love the bass in this song. It digs in and gives the song its character.” _Boston Groupie News
“The alternative rock band from Boston does what it is good at on ‘Sweet Proximity’. Come up with a chorus that is as tough as it is singable, while the lead guitars swirl all around the melody throughout the song. The rhythm guitar is distorted but leaves a lot of space because of the accented, stop-start way of playing for the singer and the lead guitar to fill in the spots it leaves open… ‘Sweet Proximity’ is a tough single that captures alternative rock, some grunge and yes, classic rock from the 70s.” _WoNoBlog
“I love this — immediate love. It’s pretty edgy.” _Carmelita on Bay State Rock
“Awesome band called TELL with their stunning new track.” _Isaac Banks on Banks Radio Australia
“TELL’s Life In Reverse runs at around 24 minutes so there’s no excuse not to give it an hour and play it twice. An interesting listen that has some catchy melodic tunes with thought provoking and at times ironic lyrics.” _Maximum Volume Music
“Quiet visionaries in the footsteps of Television, melding new wave/punk and art-rock with virtuosity and detail.” _Ted Drozdowski in Premier Guitar Magazine
“Timeless riffs and steady backbeats open up to anthemic arena-ready choruses.” _Graeme Bentley, Music Director, Boston's 92.5 The River
“If you’re a first-class songwriter, being shut down just might wind up turning you loose. David Wildman has written his share of gems over the years, often in bands that deserved way more attention than they got. His new band TELL refines the moody yet pop-centric approach he’s had all along. …But the real news here is Wildman’s flair for storytelling: The songs here present characters who are a little offbeat, sometimes flawed but always recognizable, all making their way through a desperate era. It’s a lot like real life in these times, only catchier.” _Brett Milano, Boston music writer
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