EP REVIEW: Old Belief | New Despair – Copse
As DEAFHEAVEN descend from their throne to pursue post-rock prosperity, COPSE begin their ascent to take their place. Signed to Church Road Records, and armed with Old Belief | New Despair, the follow-up EP to 2022’s debut Mara | Mondrem, the kingdom all but awaits to be ruled.
Opener . is a two-minute palette cleanser from your past listening habits; imagine the sky gushing pink hues as it parades from dusk to dawn, as new possibilities come to life or cups of coffee fuel reflection. If it sounds dreamlike to read, it sounds even dreamier to listen to, as glimmering guitars soar into existence, as if a world is unfolding into existence.
Don’t be fooled though, Old Belief | New Despair isn’t just a playground for shoegazey soundscapes to unravel, as vocalist Ed Gibbs’ (DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL) shrieking screams shoot straight into your soul as Old Belief arrives. Blastbeats explode in the undercurrent, like mines on a battlefield, as you journey through the remnants of a peaceful world, conflicted by opposing views.
Where COPSE shine brightest is their ability to carve lyrics into sounds; the very juxtaposition of Gibbs’ violence-inducing vocals and drummer Ryan Westwood’s maniacal rhythmic explosions with guitarists Phil Vernon and Craig Mallard’s magical melting pot of post-rock riffs to drift off into your dreamworld with captures the internal struggle of the lyrics. As Gibbs suggests “I just can’t grasp the logic in your head / Of course, I want to see your prejudice decay”, you’re compelled to contemplate the disillusion within our own societal structures.
One trick ponies COPSE are not, as the 14-minute, cosmos-conquering New Despair pays testament to. Shimmering guitars and sparse, spare drum beats fill space like little earthquakes erupting, like ripples in the waves around you. At once, you’re at ease, as Gibbs’ ghostly cleans apparate into existence. Like a hollowed-out lost soul looking for meaning, the repetitive “it’s not enough for me, it’s not enough for you” brands a mark into your very soul. In many ways, you are but a passenger on the path COPSE take, as cleans drift into screams halfway, a blackened post-metal outpouring of all human emotion, underlined by a maturing melody that might just break your heart. By the time New Despair comes to an end, you’re left emotionally drained by this transcendental track.
With Mara | Mondrem, COPSE gave us glimmers of potential, but with Old Belief | New Despair, they paint a picture of the future for blackened post-metal, for blackgaze, and for music that moves beyond its sonic boundaries and cements itself into the fabric of your very being.
Rating: 10/10
Old Belief | New Despair is set for release on August 11th via Church Road Records.
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