The song opens with a declaration so insistent it borders on the manic: "I'm gonna change it / I'm gonna change it, ok?" Minor repeats this refrain with the obsessive quality of someone trying to convince himself as much as his audience. There's a beautiful desperation here, the kind that fuels every worthwhile artistic statement – the gap between wanting transformation and having the faintest idea what that transformation might look like. "I just don't know what it is / But I ain't asking you please" he admits, and it's this honesty that elevates the song beyond simple protest.
Musically, "Change It!" draws from the vintage soul palette that Minor has been refining throughout his career, layering it with indie rock urgency and just enough punk attitude to keep things from slipping into nostalgia. The production feels deliberately raw, as though Palmer understood that polish would only diminish the song's inherent frenzy. This is music made by someone who's genuinely agitated, not someone performing agitation for effect.
The bridge deserves particular attention: "Sister and brother, can you spare me a paradigm?" Minor asks, invoking both biblical kinship and Depression-era desperation. It's a clever bit of wordplay that manages to feel earned rather than forced, positioning the search for new ways of thinking as both collective necessity and individual crisis. The "suburban redevelopment programme / Unprecedented in our time" suggests not just personal renovation but wholesale societal restructuring, though Minor is smart enough to keep the politics implicit rather than didactic.
What makes "Change It!" more than just another angry young man record is Minor's willingness to acknowledge his own insignificance within the chaos. "I ain't nothin', nowhere, no one," he sings, before immediately asserting he's "gonna change it" anyway. This contradiction – between powerlessness and determination, between confusion and conviction – gives the song its emotional heft. Minor understands that revolution begins with admitting you don't have all the answers.
The London N1 songwriter has clearly absorbed his influences well. You can hear echoes of early Jam in the rhythmic drive, a touch of Elvis Costello's verbal dexterity, perhaps even some Dexys Midnight Runners soul-searching intensity. But Minor synthesizes these touchstones into something distinctly his own – existential indie rock that refuses to wallow in its own existentialism.
Following the critical praise Minor has accumulated throughout 2025 (from Savoy Truffle Tunes to The Big Takeover), "Change It!" suggests he's ready to reach beyond the blogosphere. The track has the hooks necessary for wider consumption while maintaining the integrity that's earned him his cult following. It's rare to find an artist who can balance accessibility with authenticity this effectively.
As a preview of *Ten New Toe-Tappers for Shoplifting & Self-Mutilation*, "Change It!" promises an album that won't play it safe. If the title alone doesn't make that clear, this single certainly does. Minor has positioned himself as a voice for anyone whose potential remains frustratingly unrealized, anyone clinging to hope despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. That's a substantial audience right now, and Minor has written them an anthem that acknowledges the absurdity of optimism while demanding it anyway.
"Watch me change!" he shouts, and you believe him, even if you suspect he'll still be confused tomorrow. Sometimes that's enough.