Caulbearers open “Brothers At The Wheel” in a deep, easy groove. Bass, percussion, keys, and guitar leave plenty of air around Damien Mahoney’s vocal, giving the song a smoothness that initially makes its political weight almost easy to miss.
The arrival of the strings changes the scale. Olivia Moore’s violin winds through Anton Hunter’s guitar so naturally that the two begin to feel connected, one sharpening as the other rises. Stefan Skrimshire’s cello adds weight underneath, and the arrangement keeps expanding without losing the groove that held it together.
Each new part adds something distinct. Keys, bass, drums, percussion, guitar, violin, and cello build around the same pulse until something initially contained becomes much more open and vivid.
Mahoney’s “wheel” is the system built around profit and power at the expense of people, communities, and the planet. The song moves from disappointment in those controlling it toward solidarity between the people caught underneath it. As that idea widens, so does the music.
Ruth Blake enters with a wordless vocal that lifts above the arrangement without separating from it. There is sadness in her voice, but also strength. With the strings and guitars rising underneath her, the song reaches beyond anger into something more hopeful and communal.
Caulbearers draw from soul, funk, dub, jazz, folk, and post punk, but “Brothers At The Wheel” never feels pieced together from separate influences. The groove gives everything a common centre, while the strings and guitar keep stretching the song beyond where it began.
The subject is heavy, but the music never becomes weighed down by it. Its anger has rhythm, its sadness has beauty, and by the second half the arrangement has turned both into something almost celebratory without softening what the song is saying.
Produced by Mahoney, mixed by Seadna McPhail, and mastered by Jim Spencer at Eve Mastering, “Brothers At The Wheel” previews Caulbearers’ forthcoming album Come Back Home. The ensemble also includes Will Lenton on keys, Grenville Harrop on drums, Dan Mitchell on bass, and Gavin Mullan on percussion.
The guitar and violin climbing together become the clearest expression of what the song is reaching for. The groove stays underneath them, but the music keeps opening outward, turning solidarity from an idea in the lyrics into something you can actually hear happening between the instruments.
“Brothers At The Wheel” is out now via Single Cell Recordings. Come Back Home arrives October 30.
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