WHEN listening to the new Django Django record, it is reasonable to assume it was written during a time when lockdown had stoked the flames of division and social tension and people were lashing out against a prison of frustration.

Sadly, it pre-dates the turmoil that envelops us all today and, perhaps, belies the idea that our social separation is the product of the pandemic and the resulting degradation of personal connections. Maybe, just maybe, we were always like this.

Glowing in the Dark highlights the sheer folly of an "Us against Them" mindset – one which has crippled any inclination to find a common ground.

Django Django drummer David Maclean feels the concepts that informed the writing of the record have intensified in the last year or so.

He tells The Weekender: "A lot of people, when they hear the lyrics and themes of the album, think that it was written in lockdown. But I think there was already a bit of an edge to what was going on in the world, and on the news, at the time we were writing it.

"There was a lot of division and a lot of trouble in the world and I think that seeped into the album and now it just seems to have been magnified by a hundred."

Lockdown is having an effect. The increased isolation most people are facing has driven them to social media, equipped with a heightened predilection for exasperation and incandescence.

Simple discussions have become polarising, with any semblance of tolerance falling by the wayside.

There was a lot of division and a lot of trouble in the world and I think that seeped into the album and now it just seems to have been magnified by a hundred."

Yet, Maclean watches the dichotomisation of debate with an eye on those who are benefiting from it and eagerly awaits the day that division leads to unity.

"It's a classic strategy," he argues. "A classic government strategy: Look over there – it's their fault. Don't blame the government, blame this group of people.

"People are manipulated to act this way because it benefits people at the top of the chain. They want us down here squabbling with ourselves.

"A lot of social media is down to this road-rage mentality where you don't see the person face-to-face so you think you can just say anything you like. But you'd never act like that towards someone while in a supermarket queue.

"That problem has been going on with humanity since the birth of man. Some of these issues seem to be baked into the way humans interact. But I think we have to be aware of it and push back against it, otherwise we're in a bit of trouble.

"You have to look to the powers-that-be who make these decisions – and their policies – and question them, rather than squabbling amongst ourselves.

The left-right divide has to come to an end because it's flawed. I think the younger generation coming up are beginning to see that..."

"I just hope that people start to see through it more and not fall for these tricks."

Having observed events both at home and in the United States – most notably the rising prevalence of acrimonious discourse among public figures – Maclean continues to feel a deep-rooted guilt for all those caught in crossfire: the no man's land.

Many others will take to social media and lambast those for how they vote or how they side on contentious matters – the interrogation taking a decidedly adversarial route of 'How could you?' or 'What is wrong with you?'

"I find it hard to blame anyone for the way they vote," Maclean adds. "There is a lot of manipulation going on and it's targeted towards a lot of people who are struggling, and they don't know which way to turn.

"It's tough to blame those people, I really do blame the people at the top who manipulate these things for their own gain."

He continues: "The left-right divide has to come to an end because it's flawed. I think the younger generation coming up are beginning to see that and, hopefully, will bring people together, to discuss common interests, rather than what divides them."

While Glowing in the Dark delves into these ideas with some force, it is certainly not an album that relishes in the negative. In fact, its overriding theme is one of harmony and battling to dispel the threat of strife in our communities.

Maclean adds: "It's called Glowing in the Dark in a nod to the euphemism 'light at the end of the tunnel' or the idea that the darkness is never fully dark – there is always a light, and a glint of optimism, somewhere.

"The theme of division runs through quite a lot of our songs but focusing on how we should try not to be divided.

"It harks back to the music I listened to: anything from Public Enemy to Scottish folk music, which is often about the strength of unity, and kicking against the divide and conquer mentality that governments seem to have or the 'left-right' partisan politics that has taken over."

LISTEN: Django Django – Glowing in the Dark on Spotify