Simon Scardanelli Sounds the Alarm with Rousing Folk-Rock Anthem “Battle Ships”

British-born, France-based singer-songwriter Simon Scardanelli delivers a thunderous call to arms with his latest single, “Battle Ships,” a gritty and rebellious folk-rock anthem drawn from his forthcoming climate-themed folk-opera La Mer.

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/track/4BIk3ZHgKFS8rWIBHkxYOL?si=d627b1ba1b0140ec&nd=1&dlsi=c842c5ab15c340d7

With stripped-down acoustic force and a rhythmic pulse that feels like it’s marching toward the edge of something irreversible, “Battle Ships” makes an immediate impact. The track opens like a storm cloud: a few ominous strums, a slow build of tension, then Scardanelli’s voice—sharp, expressive, and resolute—cutting through like lightning. There’s no gentle introduction here. The song arrives with a message, and it demands your attention.

The instrumentation is raw yet intricate. Every element is deliberate. A jagged acoustic guitar lays the foundation, carrying the grit and heft of protest. Subtle percussion enters, adding weight without overwhelming the mix. The real surprise, though, comes in the form of the ukulele—an instrument rarely associated with power—played here with a kind of brute intensity that defies its typical sweetness. The energy is arresting, the strumming almost percussive, adding a jarring contrast that gives the track its signature bite.

Scardanelli’s vocal performance brings a theatrical immediacy to the song. He delivers each line like a rallying cry, swinging between spoken-word cadence and impassioned melodic rise. There’s fire in the delivery, but also a clarity that cuts through the noise—this is storytelling with purpose.

Thematically, “Battle Ships” paints a vivid, mythic allegory. It imagines a race—otherworldly, perhaps oceanic—rising up against humanity in retaliation for the ecological ruin we’ve wrought. The language is poetic but grounded in fury. The tone is both otherworldly and familiar, like a warning passed down in folk tales but ringing urgently true in the present.

“It brings the house down live,” Simon shares. “There’s not many times you get to hear a ukulele played with this kind of aggression.” That unusual aggression becomes a defining feature of the track, capturing the contradiction at the heart of the piece: beauty and destruction colliding, storytelling laced with rage.

Originally written for La Mer—a large-scale folk opera currently in development and slated for release in 2025—“Battle Ships” quickly took on a life of its own. Scardanelli had no intention of releasing it as a single until he saw how audiences responded in real time. It was too potent to wait.

The single offers a glimpse into what’s shaping up to be an ambitious and genre-defying body of work. La Mer will blend myth, music, and multimedia performance to explore the climate crisis through an artistic and emotional lens. The project is expected to tour internationally, with both English and French narration, further expanding Scardanelli’s already impressive artistic range.

Scardanelli has long embraced the role of shape-shifter. From late-80s chart success with Big Bam Boo to the cult-favorite Death Row Tales, from solo records like That Dangerous Sparkle to theatrical projects like Clean – The Musical, his career resists easy classification. With Battle Ships, he adds another powerful chapter—one that speaks to the present moment with urgency, vision, and grit.

The track doesn’t offer solutions—it raises the stakes. It doesn’t soothe—it stirs. “Battle Ships” stands as both a warning and a challenge, its rallying cry echoing long after the final strum fades.