
Conscious Pilot – God’s Hot Car
Say the right things, and you can manoeuvre through just about any aspect of life. Tell a big enough life and you can become president or start a bloody revolution. Say the right pickup line, and you can acquire the partner of your life or fall deep in love with someone who will turn your existence into a living hell. Have just the right hook for a song and it can turn you into a globally-beloved pop star.
It’s not complicated, but it’s the most difficult thing in the world. It’s quite the game we have here. And that’s why we all keep playing. That’s why all these losers keep wanting to be president, and all these people who could be lawyers or finance bros make music. They may just figure out the right thing to say one day, and everything will be different.
The post-punk re-revival is the sound of modern disenchantment. It is usually produced by wealthy kids from England during their gap year. Conscious Pilot may be inspired by IDLES, but don’t hold that against them. “God’s Hot Car” has one truly great line, and they work it excellently. The groove is there, and the existential dread is there as well. That’s enough to warrant that you play it and lock it into “repeat.”
The Rope – The Show
Does the recipe of the humble French croissant need to be improved? Probably not and that’s because most people know what they want and expect from a croissant. There are no great croissant scientists suggesting massive alterations. The same for the Turkish falafel or Spanish paella. But do you get what you want each time you order any of these dishes? Of course not!
I was nearly driven crazy by a recent Katy Perry review (yes, I have to read those things) in which the reviewer had the nerve to say that Perry’s bubblegum pop isn’t as cutting-edge as the one produced by Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan, music that sounds like a rehash of 90s Kylie and 80s synth pop respectively. A formula is a formula, and people use it in the kitchen or the studio for a reason.
The Rope know their recipe well before they start cooking. Their music is born out of large 80s-styled soundscapes and baritone vocals that resemble The Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler. But, damn, in the hands of this band, it all works. You get what you paid for, you’ll leave a review, and you’ll come again. This is dark goth-rock/post-punk music that slides into specialised playlists easily and gets stuck in listeners’ heads. What’s supposed to be so cutting edge about 3-minute songs anyway?