Black Spiders
Cvrses
Dark Riders via Cargo Distribution
Sheffield’s Black Spiders’ last outing saw them vow that they ‘Can’t Die, Won’t Die’ on their fourth album, demonstrating admirable defiance to life’s curtain call. Thankfully, they stayed true to their word, and have graced us all with their follow-up effort in ‘Cvrses’. So how does defying the Reaper sound? Despite the obvious darker connotations that the word “curses” would suggest, ‘Cvrses’ pulses with a brilliant brightness that makes for a tremendously happy listen. While dealing with the unrelenting nature of life, “Never Enough” bounces with verve, while the glorious gang-vocal “shut-up” verse refrain in the bratty “Sorry Not Sorry” carries such a pleasing levity. Even on the likes of the fiendish ballad “Dia De Muertos”, or closing acoustic guitar-led lament “Rotten To The Core”, there remains a heartening sense of life that compels further listens. Though the album’s jewel in the crown belongs to “Tom Petty’s Lips” – that chorus will remain with you for a long, long time after and you will be singing it. You will. The band’s ethos is ably summed up in the “Castille De La Roja Skit”: “live your dreams and to hell with the consequences”. Well, if the product of them living this out is ‘Cvrses’, then thank goodness they heeded the soothsayer’s advice. The riffs rock, the leads rip and the choruses soar – as rock albums go, you will struggle for better than ‘Cvrses’.
Review by Lee Carter