April 11 2026
James Kahn
"Cold Dawn"
There is a tired cliché about horrible political moments making for great music. And as
weary as that trope is, you can’t argue with the results. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald
Reagan were probably the two best muses for the late ’70s/early ’80s punk genre. But
both pale to the cruelty and incompetence that are hallmarks of Donald Trump’s tenure
as president. His particularly punishing brand of politics has launched a franchise
movement in other countries as well. As a result, since being sworn in as the
Commander in Chief last year, he has inspired a slew of protest songs across several
genres, from Springsteen’s “Street of Minneapolis” and the Dropkick Murphys’ “Who Will
Stand With Us,” to Billy Bragg’s “City of Heroes.” So, James Kahn is in great company
with the rollout of “Cold Dawn.”
Kahn—a multipotentialite who has been everything from a doctor and screenwriter to a
singer-songwriter—turns in his most compelling song yet with “Cold Dawn.” The four-
minute track opens with steady drumming and a fiddle before Kahn delivers the line,
“It’s coming on dark times,” leading the listener on a rundown of Trump’s America, from
masked government forces kidnapping and killing in the name of “immigration reform,”
to the president’s handpicked Justice Department, actively fighting to keep wealthy
businessmen from ever having to face consequences for raping children.
The song is haunting—especially as we are still living through it - and Kahn’s knack for
songwriting brings the horror to life even as we begin to grow numb to the headlines.
The line, “Who would you hide, if it came to that,” is particularly stunning. The song, a
mix of folk and Americana, is buoyed by an almost swing-like beat, and the beauty of
the harmonies in the chorus “hold on” provides a solid contrast to the terror of the
subject matter. It’s that chorus, along with the last few lines of the song, that takes this
from helpless despair to a surprisingly optimistic tone. “Cold Dawn” stands as both a
document of its moment and a quiet act of resistance.
John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.
Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine
twitter @jbmoore00