Having been told that this was rather different to their previous songs I listened to those before taking a listen to this. And yes, as the band told me it’s way rawer than the band’s other releases. This no alt-rock track, there’s no quiet/loud going on here. It’s closer to being good old fashioned punk with a metal edge than pop-punk or dark rock, it has that guitar chugger-chugger thing going on. But I’m struck by vocals which are sort of old fashioned metal stylee, the vocals follow the riff, if you see what I mean. I kept getting vaguely reminded – and I mean very vaguely – of Vice Squad every time I listened to it, it’s just there as a hint of something for me. Equally I get hints – vague hints again – of Black Sabbath in places.
I may be making it sound a bit like a retro-fest, it isn’t because CWM have given it their own thing. They throw a radio-voice section into the mix, seemingly just for kicks, but it works. And they resist the temptation to do any major amounts of speeding up – which when you first listen to the song is what you think is going to happen. It slows down not up people. It’s a blast.
But actually the more I listened to this the more I started hearing things that I really liked, the drumming for one. The drumming on this track is damn fine. The guitar is hugely precise, for a song so riff based if it wasn’t it just would sound like a mess. I started really hearing the words and they are good – the song is actually about past friendships and how they are responsible for the people we are today. The production is fantastic, this is no muddy mess.
It’s one of things where I really liked the track but for the life of me I can’t put a finger on exactly why in any sort of useful to you, the reader, sort of way. Yes, the playing is great, and yes, the words are good but I just can’t, and I’m sorry, say quite why I found it quite possible to listen to this on repeat for ages and ages and enjoy it every time. The problem is that I have songs I can listen to again and again but there’s no common thread in style or musical genre, the only common thing is that the moment they finish I think actually I could listen to that again (and then again, and then again …). I guess that they all just hit the right nerve, and are addictive listening.
CWM have produced something really great, something that – for no reason I can pin down – is hugely addictive. Get this and get addicted.
Lyric video: https://youtu.be/FpnpeuTG1-U
The info
CWM say this – which seems as good an introduction as you’re going to have
“Hi,
We are CWM, a rock band from Sheffield playing our own hard-hitting mix of pop-punk and dark rock music. We enjoy many things from the rock band lifestyle: taking a month to agonize how best a bridge would sound; arguing incessantly over what our name actually stands for and creating the best god damn band hug known to man. Currently we are writing and recording our first album and are supporting it by playing live and aiming to get some press and radio coverage. We have played around Sheffield to our loyal, lovely fanbase who revel in questioning what our name actually means. Through amps mysteriously breaking around the singer, to a producer scarily and enthusiastically singing about touching his hand to his face: we remain focused and committed to our goals.
Our ambition is to entertain and we feel it best to leave it up to our audience whether that is through them listening to our music, or staring at a great, big, bushy beard.”
CWM are:
John Bunker – Singer/Guitarist
Miles Blacklock – Drummer
Tom Hartley – Bassist)
Rob Hill – Lead Guitarist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CWM420/
Website: http://www.cwmband.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN97lKB7cI-X-9fuUfEA5ZQ?view_as=subscriber
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-899272318
Catch CWM at Corporation Sheffield on 27th April in support of Weapon UK. the price of entry is £10 and it is 14+
