Words by Daniel Rourke
2016 was a year to forget. Whether it was celebrity deaths, disastrous
political events, or the Instagram update that shook the world, everything that
could go wrong did. Whilst the cataclysmic year left us broken down at the side
of the road, Camp Cope and Cayetana shone through the haze,
meeting our anxieties and doubts with beautifully relatable songs that went
toe-to-toe as some of the best of the year.
Less than a month into 2017 the bands are not only back, but
they’re back with a split EP through Poison City Records.
Opening with Camp Cope’s Keep
Growing, there’s an air of familiarity from the off. It’s like coming home
after a long trip. The opening drum beats are met by the all so familiar Camp
Cope bass tones, before vocalist Georgia Maq blows the listener away with as a
tale of love and mental health ensues: “I
never wanna do anything / maybe I haven’t learned anything / I loved you more
than anything.”
Trading song-for-song, Cayetana are up next with the
musically uplifting Mesa, as the
intro sounds like something stuck between The
Cure and Beach Slang. Musically
it’s a nice change of pace from the dower tones of Keep Growing, but lyrically the track shares many of the same themes
found on Camp Cope’s opener.
As Cayetana’s introduction leaves the listener somewhat
uplifted, in step Camp Cope again with the exceptional Footscray Station. It is in
Footscray Station in which the true quality in Georgia Maq’s song writing shines through.
Centred around the western Melbourne station, the track tells story after
story, touching on working life class life, love, and Australia’s Liberal Party
politician Scott Morrison. It’s truly a remarkable song that goes down as one
of Camp Cope’s best.
Given the brilliance of Footscray
Station, Cayetana are left with the tough job of not only following, but
also closing out the split EP. Trails
sees the band slow things down to a more Camp Cope like pace, and it works
extremely well. The indie tinged sound of Trails
proves to be a beautifully sincere closer, as the building drums and bass work
exceptionally well with Augusta Koch’s vocals.
Camp Cope and Cayetana will probably never become household
names, their brand of music and the messages they choose to portray just don’t
hit the mainstream like they should. However, the sincerity and hauntingly exquisite
storytelling on show from both bands is enough to long for a
changing of the guard.