If you have ever fancied a life as a pirate, this one is for you.
It has been an unbelievably busy Saturday, and I have been yearning for my sofa! Having finally made it home and being extremely tempted to watch something on the telly, I resisted and headed instead to our ever-full email inbox to pull out a review. With a band name like The Mouldy Cave Society, how could I resist?
The Band
The Mouldy Cave Society are a rock band from Braga, Portugal, formed in 2014 by Rafael Xavier (vocals, guitar), Joaquim Sousa (drums), Tiago Horta (bass, keyboards) and Jorge Araújo (guitar). Drawing from Hard Rock, Blues Rock and Alternative Rock, the band has built its identity around energetic guitar-driven songs, driving rhythms and raspy, gritty vocals, with a darker and more irreverent approach to rock.
Their name derives from the band’s origins in a dirty, mouldy garage, where the first ideas and recordings took shape.
In 2016, the band recorded six songs at Noise Magnet Studio in Guimarães. Some of these recordings remained unreleased for years and are now being revisited through The Cave Archive. The first glimpse of this material reached the public in 2022 with “Stop Marching”, a song written as a protest against war and a plea for peace.
In 2026, the band began revisiting early recordings from the Tea Time In A Mouldy Cave sessions through The Cave Archive, recovering and sharing music from those formative years. One of these recordings to resurface is “Jake, The Snake”, recorded in 2016 and released ten years later. A lively, darkly comic rock song about a ruthless Welsh pirate and outlaw, it reflects the band’s more playful and irreverent side while preserving the character of the original recording.
The Mouldy Cave Society are now looking to bring their mouldy rock to audiences beyond Portugal.
My Review
Released on September 25, 2026, “Jake the Snake” is out on all platforms now.
“Jake the Snake” opens instrumentally with a riff-based sound that immediately brought Slade to mind. The dark story in the lyrics and the vocal style take things somewhere rather different, however — this is more punky pirate rock!
This is a rum-and-Coke song for the high seas, and there is something of a hard-rocking sea shanty about it. It even has a built-in crowd-interaction “Oi!” mid-section, along with a strong guitar break that adds plenty of swashbuckling style.
If I were heading out for a life on the ocean waves, this would be a decent enough soundtrack to accompany me. There is a sense that the band aren’t taking themselves too seriously here, and that works in the song’s favour. It is rough around the edges, energetic and knowingly ridiculous in places — precisely the sort of thing that makes you want to turn it up rather than analyse it too closely.
“Jake the Snake” feels like a band having a bit of fun with rock’s darker side and throwing a pirate story, some crunchy guitars and a healthy dose of attitude into the mix. It certainly isn’t your traditional sea shanty, but then I suspect Jake wouldn’t have approved of one.
So, if your idea of a good evening involves guitars, pirates, questionable behaviour and the occasional “Oi!”, The Mouldy Cave Society may just have the soundtrack for you. Just don’t expect Jake the Snake to be handing out the rum responsibly.
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Stream music from The Mouldy Cave Society here
Band Website here
By Stevie Ritson
Join Rock the Joint Magazine on the road to the best independent music journalism, interviews, and reviews. We cover Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues and Christian music. Support us on Ko-Fi (link on each page) to help the magazine grow and value independent journalism.