Some so-called-DIY bands are about as self-made as a flat-pack IKEA wardrobe, but Glasgow’s Conscious Pilot are the musical equivalent of building your own house from scratch, using nothing but a Swiss Army knife and sheer bloody-mindedness.
With their new EP ‘Wipe Clean’, the band lean into a more collaborative writing process, bringing together the collective creativity of all four members – Jack Sharp, Joe Laycock, Chris McCrory, and Emmy Leishman. The result is an eclectic and cathartic blend of spontaneous jams, intricate arrangements, and deeply thoughtful lyrics.
Unlike their previous EP, which was primarily written by Jack and Joe, ‘Wipe Clean’ captures the raw energy of the entire group working together in real-time. Recorded in the iconic Green Door studio, a hub for Glasgow’s underground scene, the EP was crafted in an intimate, creative space that intensified their musical experimentation. The band’s distinctive sound shines through tracks like ‘God’s Hot Car’, born from a laid-back jam session, and ‘Filth Night’, the first track to fully showcase their collaborative process. Each song serves as a reflection of the band’s growth.
Here, the band talk us through the release from front to back.
God’s Hot Car
The moment ‘God’s Hot Car’ was written, we knew it was going to be the first track on this EP. Initially pieced together from a reoccurring jam between Jack and Chris, Joe one day began singing “It’s that sexy little song” over what had become a sexy little song, a refrain which eventually morphed into “just a couple’ little dogs”. The song, being one of the first written on this EP, solidified that, as a group, we were enjoying sitting into a beat even more than with the previous group of songs.
Filth Night
‘Filth Night’ is the second track on Conscious Pilot’s second EP, ‘Wipe Clean’, recorded at Glasgow’s Green Door by the band’s very own Chris McCrory and first released on Devil Duck Records in late September. The song was the first reveal of a development into a collaborative song writing process, as is reflected in the shared lead vocals. The band have been living out of each other’s pockets both on the road and at home since the current line-up’s formation, culminating in an immersive batch of songs of which ‘Filth Night’ was fittingly the first to be plated up and served.
Roman Architecture
Writing ‘Roman Architecture’ was a key milestone for the group. It is an ambitious composition which leads the listener astray from a kind of odd waltz into a pencil-jump-worthy beat, only to satisfyingly lure them back into the later. The track matches this ambition lyrically, critiquing the flawed foundations of education and the job market through expansive metaphor. The lyrics were initially formulated after meeting one too many stress-free silver spoon students, all of whom seemed to be studying architecture, at the height of the cost-of-living crises.
Me And Marcel
‘Me And Marcel’ was written about famous mime artist Marcel Marceau. It inhibits a close perspective, shifting between the eyes of the children he saved by way of teaching them mimery. It hypothesises the absurd/farcical nature of such a situation, of working with children in this way and in this context. Children who exist firmly in the present. Who, by nature, cannot conceptually grasp such a situation and are endlessly innocent of it, epitomised by the idea they would be “happy to absolve a conquistador”.
Snake In My Boots
‘Snake In My Boots’ is arguably the simplest track on the EP and was the quickest written. Reminiscing a nightmare in which his shoelaces turned into snakes, Laycock spontaneously laid down the lyrics over the sporadically thought-up bass riff and drums. A one-note lead part was laid over the top, and then it became apparent that the crux of the song would lay in making small but effectual tweaks to this simple foundation as it unfolds. The song was allowed to unfold, and from there, it essentially wrote itself.
Paint It Slowly
‘Paint it Slowly’ was written at the same time as the songs on the band’s debut EP, ‘Epoxy Plains’. It never felt right with that group of songs so didn’t make it onto that record. However, after the first few songs had been written for ‘Wipe Clean’, it became evident not only that it had a suitable home but that the song was the answer to balancing the EP.
More poppy than the rest of the songs, ‘Paint it Slowly’ intends to give delight. To open up the soundscape from its tightness into something that is initially more lax but, over time, closes like a fist that we hope will be punching the air as its body dances towards the end. The lyrics are about art. How it is up its own arse. How, hypothetically, if there was a natural disaster, the art dealers holding the remaining art would become even richer, and how this epitomises the gross exclusivity of it all. We intend to cut that exclusivity by hopefully giving you something you can dance to, dancing being about the most inclusive thing one can do.
Conscious Pilot EP ‘Wipe Clean’ is out now.
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