I have the perfect song to start your week—a track that melds together hauntingly meditative themes and poetically gritty indie-rock greatness. Of course, I’m talking about Melbourne-based trio Cope & Drag’s latest single, ‘Heaven Vs Halo.’
Penned in the culturally rich city of Vavuniya in Sri Lanka and brought to life on a quaint Adelaide Hills apple farm, ‘Heaven Vs Halo’ carries the weight of intricate contemplation and reflection, specifically surrounding mortality. The song tiptoes along the fringes of both deep respect and derision, sporting slivers of dark humour and a melody that is spritzed with lo-fi-esque spindrifts. Let’s get into it!
Heaven Vs Halo
Easing you into the track, you are immediately entranced by a beautifully minimalistic lo-fi atmosphere, an ambience that leads you into the introductory guitar riff. The isolated electricity of the guitar keeps its distance from the track’s texture, which creates an intriguing pocket of negative space for the meadowy, lo-fi undercurrents and the keen drumbeats to fill. Such a dreamily, almost-hazy instrumental harmony will put you in the mind of an individual who is caught between clarity and, due to the unornamented backdrop, languidly quiet chaos. Oh yeah, ‘unique’ doesn’t do the band’s sound justice.
Adding another layer of fascination to the song, the vocals wade through the melody with a melodious sluggishness; there’s a laxity to them that reminds me of how it feels to navigate life with a sort of carefree toastiness. The delivery, in conjunction with the loose-fitting instrumentals, burns the wick of the melody slowly, allowing you to soak in this pull-and-push between vulnerability and acceptance.
Sporting generously placed instrumental breaks, you get a sense of a type of gravitational non-conformity in the way that it’s abundantly clear that Cope & Drag care little for mainstream trends and instead prioritise eccentric storytelling. This is doubly apparent when the guitar closes that pocket of negative space, taking to the spotlight with a grittiness that feels as if it was plucked straight from the trio’s scrutiny of life and death. You’d expect the vocals to be the element of the track that soars during the peak of the song’s emotional flight, but I love that it’s the string work, complete with the moody croon of the bass, that carries the song’s summit. Sometimes, you just don’t need words, and Cope & Drag are confident enough in their style to explore that idea.
The song’s close is one of powerful ambience, just like its beginning, but this time there is a heightened degree of liveliness thanks to the intertwined vivacity of the drums and the guitar. On the final reverb-rich note, you can feel a tonal shift that almost serves as an answer to the theme of existentialism that permeates across the track. Naturally, that answer is a question: Are you truly ready to go?
Source: https://www.instagram.com/copeanddrag/
ALT: An achromatic shot of indie-rock trio Cope & Drag performing live at The Gem Bar.
Cope & Drag
Ever since 2005, Cope & Drag have been chiselling out a path of unconventional artistry that has contributed massively to the uniqueness of the indie-rock genre over the past two decades.
Through the releases of the spectacularly written ‘True Gent’ EP and a ribbon of singles, including ‘Never Learn,’ ‘Renegade,’ and ‘Lowlife Laureate,’ the trio have been described as ‘Jangle Core’ and ‘Indie Noir.’ Such labels emphasise the group’s ability to not only exist beyond the margins of the familiar genres we know and love, but also dominate them with an inimitable tapestry of sound.
I can only imagine what it would be like to see Cope & Drag perform live! Picture this: you were there at one of the venues that the group had revitalised, such as Lulie Tavern or The Gem Bar. I know I’d be swiftly seeking out one of Cope & Drag’s witty band shirts after such an intriguing night! I’m sure the 10K+ people who have lent their ears to Cope & Drag’s Spotify discography would agree with me on that one!
‘Heaven Vs Halo’ is out now and available to listen to across all major streaming platforms!
Till next time.