Following the release of Welsh rockers Godsticks’ new studio album – Faced With Rage the band have released a new acoustic version of the song We Are Leaving.
As Godsticks’ guitarist & frontman Darran Charles explains, ‘I worked out the other day that ‘Faced with Rage’ is the only Godsticks album that doesn’t feature an acoustic guitar. I remember we had a few acoustic song ideas lying around at the time of recording but none of them seemed to fit the overall vibe of the album. But as I was messing around with an acoustic guitar a few months ago I began playing the rhythm part for ‘We are leaving’ and it sounded really nice. I played it to the rest of the band and they agreed, so we began working on a new stripped-back arrangement of the song.’
This particular song is quite personal to Charles who reveals the inspiration behind the song:
“Although not strictly autobiographical, the song is a reflection of my growing up on an estate that during my late teens/early twenties had become infiltrated with heroin and, by association, crime. A huge number of the people I grew up with became heroin addicts and although I wasn’t personally in danger of falling into that lifestyle (as I usually did the opposite of everyone else for some reason!) I could see how easy it was to fall into the clutches of addiction, especially when all those around you had fallen victims themselves. However, many years later some of those who did manage to escape that environment were able to beat the addiction, and I think that kind of hope is reflected in the song.”
Godsticks will be performing on the Indigo stage at Stone Free festival this weekend (12:00pm, 17th June) and in October will be heading north to shows in Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. As an added bonus, Trojan Horse will be co-headlining the Manchester show.
GODSTICKS LIVE IN THE UK:
12/10/18 – UK – Manchester – Soup Kitchen (With Trojan Horse)
13/10/18 – UK – Newcastle – The Cluny 2
14/10/18 – UK – Glasgow – The Garage Attic