‘she’ll die a little every day’.
Even the little people will fight back sooner or later, this isn’t a challenge or a gloves off moment, it is a fact of life. Today I have the long awaited and much anticipated debut album from my friends Copperworm, regulars on GMS radio with Guy Bellamy, they have mobilised the power of social media, and amassed a loyal following, they are an important cog in the machine that is the grassroots music scene. It’s time to throw the rule book out of the window, to think outside of the box, invest a little time now and reap the rewards later.
The cover art is very striking; it features a warrior, a fighter, a survivor, suited up to face whatever life throws at her. I love the conviction; it speaks volumes, and the idea runs hand in hand with the songs. Engage your brains, adjust your antennae, and prepare to lose yourself in this quite unique, eccentric even, experience that will have your insides all a-fluster. Each track drags you out of your comfy chair and compels you to look at life from a different perspective, well, maybe not different, but a perspective that you would rather not address. It is imperative that you face your troubles, feel uncomfortable, align yourself with pain and hurt, assimilate all that is bewildering, before you can truly find any solace and see any progression. Opening with ‘Carved’ a story of self-loathing, living with emotions that are spiralling, spinning you in and out of consciousness, relegating all that is good into the dustbin. The musicianship is accomplished; with Peter Wolfe- he of the gravelly tonsils, Jon ‘Monty’ Montgomerie on bass and Mark Olly on drums, this incarnation having been cemented in 2021, like most artists, changes are all part and parcel of band life. On we go with ‘Why’ and you get that blistering twang reminiscent of The Kinks, the album has absorbed all that we love about the 60’s and 70’s rock scene and brought it back to life for us to cherish all over again.
Raw and uncompromising in their outlook, there is an edgy component, it keeps you on your toes, kind of like a wildcat waiting to pounce and you don’t know which way he’s going to jump.
On ‘Little Red’ at 3.44 you get that discernible riff, the one you drift away with, the style is typical of the Rock genre, accentuated here with the unconventional delivery.
The words are concise, chosen for their impact as opposed to their glamour, the attraction is in the simplicity, but that is what also makes this work a difficult encounter. Copperworm are an enigma; they don’t need resolving, they need preserving.
The record is a mutual assent; we meet up to share experiences, truths, lies and everything in between, Copperworm have managed to encapsulate all this in a distinctive way, a pattern that doesn’t fit, that doesn’t occupy the same bandwidth, but that is where you will find the beauty.
‘One Day’ I’ll be gone forever, history will attest to my worth , to my words and to my depth of perseverance, candour and resilience. The ‘Hillside’ will bear witness to the atrocities, we finish on a note of desperation, of sadness for our world, emphasised by the delicate tones of Jessica Leung. The jagged landscape of our lives, under the watchful gaze of the pilot. It’s you, me and Copperworm against the world, because where you draw the line will set you free.
Azra Pathan
Copperworm – Pilot