‘Bandcamp exclusive - Words Fail - Gemma Rogers. A fundraising single for HEAL Palestine.’
After last year’s exceptional 'No Future EP', Gemma Rogers has interrupted work on her second album to bring us a new one-off single with all proceeds going to HEAL Palestine.
Words Fail is an expression of disbelief, disenchantment but also of defiance in the face of the dark turn global events have taken and the ease with which words are weaponised, amplified or outright silenced and truth is more nebulous than ever.
Sounding like both sides of the coin Rogers flipped on No Future – caustic observations and unconventional couplets, an ear for a hook and a rhythm section that knows where the dancefloor is meet the lush, synth-laden atmospherics of the title track, and the blending of styles feels like an evolution that raises hopes for the album to come. The song combines lightly ska-inflicted verses and an appropriately wordless, swelling chorus of layered vocals and buzzing synths.
‘Nobody calls, nobody comes, the cake on the plate has collapsed into crumbs’ is the kind of line Rogers specializes in, at once familiar and fresh, avoiding the clumsiness or cliché of many well-intentioned writers turning their hand to politics. Subtle strains of both Arabic and Jewish instrumentation appear throughout and then melt away as if they were the voices of reason fighting to be heard.
Words Fail is a bandcamp-only release on a pay-what-you-can basis to raise money for HEAL Palestine (Health, Education, Aid, Leadership), and by rights it should raise plenty.
Further Information from Gemma
🚨 NO FUTURE - 12” EP OUT NOW 🚨
LIVE IN ‘25
Jan 28th - IVW @ Face Bar - Reading
Jan 31st - Tom Thumb Theatre - Margate
Feb 1st - Mr Shaws House - Derby
April 17th - 229 - London
May 16th - The Alternative Great Escape - Brighton (Fierce Panda / Goo Records)
May 27th - Junction - Cambridge (supporting Huey Morgan)
June 12th - Folklore Rooms - Brighton
June 28th - Glastonbury Festival