The L-Project is a group of lesbian artists who decided to collaborate (I was going to say come together, but well…) to tackle LGBT bullying. For the ignorant, that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, i.e. bullying someone simply because of who they are. Without getting into the subject too much, the issue is still a big one that still affects many people. Which is pretty much tragic in this day and age, that people simply cannot accept others for who they are. Sadly there are still plenty of horrible, moronic gurgling dunces who still peddle nasty, awful diatribes against those who are LGBT. In fact no, I apologise to dunces. These bigots are worse than that, and are often actually seemingly intelligent people. Yet they still abuse those who are different from them, lashing out like some medieval fool who thinks a woman who can do maths is a witch. We all see it in the media, on television, from religion, on social media and in the street, pub or wherever. Luckily it does seem to be getting better (see what I did there!), but there is still undeniably an issue. In case you haven’t worked it out yet, this sort of stuff makes me pretty angry, as indeed does all forms of bullying and discrimination. In fact at times it outright makes my blood boil. There are some who would remark that it shouldn’t affect me as I’m not gay, but that’s nonsense. Should I then not care about racism against any non white person as well? You don’t have to be gay to care about the rights of another human being. I remember at school hearing of a friend being beaten up simply for being gay. At the time, the reaction of me and my friends was to find the perpetrators and give them a beating of their own. The friend didn’t want this though, so wouldn’t tell us who did it. Instead he just lamented that such people still hold such backwards views. Which is where The L-Project come in. Their aim to promote understanding of the issue through education, via their support of LGBT charities Stonewall and Diversity Role Models, to whom all proceeds from this charity single will go to. And by all, I mean all, as if in 100%, as all involved are doing it for free. Good stuff. Anyway, one quick word before I actually tell you all about the music, seeing as I’m seemingly a music journalist (not my words; some publication claimed it, and I’m sticking by it). You may have noticed that I haven’t used the term ‘tolerate’ or ‘toleration’ or any such other form of the word. This is because I believe it is wrong to ‘tolerate’ a group or person, as this suggests that you are grudgingly putting up with them, perhaps even at times against your beliefs. I haven’t seen the term being used on The L-Project’s website, and can’t see it on the website of Stonewall or Diversity Role Models either. I would instead suggest that you simply accept a person, be they gay, lesbian, straight, black, white, transgender, Falkirk fan, tall, short, fat, slim etc. Why waste your time with hate, when you can be enjoying love?

Right, with that out of the way, how about the tune itself? As befits such a serious subject matter it starts out almost rather mournfully, with a soulful piano refrain. The lyrics are then laid gently over the top, yet as gently as they are delivered , they’re certainly powerful. The tone and lyrics set a picture of a struggle for acceptance of a person for who they are. Yet the song certainly lives up to it’s title, in terms of the atmosphere, becoming more positive throughout, at times being outright uplifting, with the gradual addition of drums and guitars. The vocal talents used here are fantastic, with each different singer bringing her own passion and range to the tune. To a lady, they’re all brilliant singers, and the different style of each woman (14 in all!) adds a nice diversity to the song. The shining moment however is when the song reaches it’s crescendo, with everyone joining in for an almost Band Aid like singalong.

‘It Does Get Better‘ is a lovingly crafted song, being at times fragile and at times bold and confident. It’s a perfect musical metaphor for the subject matter, and it’s a glowing beacon of hope for all who have despaired or suffered. As stated before, it’s also a great cause. Check it out.

‘It Does Get Better’ is out now and is available to buy from iTunes and Amazon

Stuart Manson

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