geez how hard is it to google a negative review and post it..
<img src="http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/crazy/265.gif" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/crazy/265.gif" alt=" - " />
Cooper Temple Clause
I was reading Rollingstone.com and saw a review of a band that seemed to be generating a lot of chat on the board, so I posted it. Geesh.
When I try to post something about a new artist who I'm interested in (see the Dolorean or Nellie McKay threads), I'm met with either indifference, i.e. no replies, or moronic quips like "I'd fuck her".
Thus, I figured if nobody here gives a rats ass about a band that I'm interested in, I might as well join in the discussions about bands that people ARE interested in. And what better way to generate discussion about a band than post a review that doesn't soind like it was written by the label's p.r. department?
When I try to post something about a new artist who I'm interested in (see the Dolorean or Nellie McKay threads), I'm met with either indifference, i.e. no replies, or moronic quips like "I'd fuck her".
Thus, I figured if nobody here gives a rats ass about a band that I'm interested in, I might as well join in the discussions about bands that people ARE interested in. And what better way to generate discussion about a band than post a review that doesn't soind like it was written by the label's p.r. department?
I was answering her question. She asked, "and who reads Rolling Stone anymore?"
The simple truth is many, many people read Rolling Stone. Way more than the marginal, specialized publications I compared it to.
I didn't mean to imply that that made it any more or less relevant, just answering her question.
The simple truth is many, many people read Rolling Stone. Way more than the marginal, specialized publications I compared it to.
I didn't mean to imply that that made it any more or less relevant, just answering her question.
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Rutherford J. Balls:rhett, what the fuck are you talking about. are you saying it is more relevant because more people read it? what kind of crack are you smoking and since when do you read rollingstone.com? freak.
probably five times more than pitchfork, popmatters, and NME combined.
Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:
You picked the one bad review I've seen. I can give you at least 10 positive reviews to counter that. And who reads Rolling Stone now anyway?
From popmatters:
Is it true that all Britpop bands sound like either Radiohead or Oasis? Are all UK artists doomed to repeat history – reproducing and re-releasing recycled versions of OK Computer and What's the Story Morning Glory? Well, if the Cooper Temple Clause's second full-length album, Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose, is the evidence submitted, then, yes. These Reading natives channel both landmark Brit bands – but also invoke a host of other worthy influences. While the Cooper Temple Clause may have serious ties to the mother country, the band succeeds in moving within and beyond its preordained genre of alt rock.
The six members of the band are all self-proclaimed outcasts, getting together in high school and forming a band basically because there was nothing else to do in Hertfordshire. The band released two EPs in 2000 and, after landing a deal with RCA, released their full-length debut, See This Through and Leave in 2001. The band members freely admit that they don't play their instruments particularly well, and according to their bio are "bad musicians who just get a sound out". Apparently, a fresher sound results from this lack of musical chops. That's debatable. It's possible for a bunch of guys to produce their own, unique sound simply because they don't know how to play other peoples' music. Case in point: U2. When those kids were 18, they couldn't play anyone else's music so they created some crazy and totally original punk/soul hybrid. On the other side of the spectrum, your band may come up short in the mechanical skills department, and to make up for it, can only sound like other influential bands.
This is at least partly the case on Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose. "The Same Mistakes" is an interesting choice for an album opener. It's a slow burner that builds and spirals upward, but doesn't ever really pay off. Front man Ben Gautrey's voice is restrained and cool. He doesn't risk much with this first track. The real artistry comes from guitarists Dan Fisher and Tom Bellamy. The sounds they create are soft and moody, reminiscent of the Edge's more tranquil work.
"Promise Promise", the first single and the heaviest song on the album, allows Gautrey to really showcase his rough, gravel-filled voice. This mosh-friendly metal tune is the perfect first single – under three-and-a-half minutes, shamelessly aggressive, and Gautrey provides an almost perfect imitation of Liam Gallagher's howl.
"New Toys" switches gears as the band delves into electronic rhythms, synthesizers courtesy of Bellamy and programmer, Kieran Mahon, and an overall IDM sensibility. Drummer Jon Harper creates intricate drum 'n' bass-tinged beats that give the otherwise poppy song a darker and more complicated feel.
Pretty much every band member sings on the next track, "Talking to a Brick Wall", and quite, frankly, it's a disconcerting sound. The voices combine with some haunted circus-style synthesizers to create a creepy atmosphere that becomes bearable only when the chorus kicks in and the power of six people playing at once takes over.
"Blind Pilots", a new wave-infused '80s throwback and one of the strongest and slickest tracks on Kick Up the Fire, channels both the Smiths and the Cure with the instrumentally spare verses. However, by the chorus, Liam Gallagher is back.
This pattern continues throughout the album. The band members produce huge sounds reminiscent of Primal Scream, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails, but when Gautrey opens his mouth – there's Liam! For some, this could be problematic. Imitation's worthless when the real thing already exists. For others, the combination of sounds from all these great bands is valuable in and of itself.
Even though these guys aren't stellar musicians, they're far from untalented. Yes, they've got the shag haircuts, the loose-fitting jeans, and the retro hoodies, but they also work well together. The Cooper Temple Clause is a good band – cohesive and confident. Worth more than one listen.
Is it true that all Britpop bands sound like either Radiohead or Oasis? Are all UK artists doomed to repeat history – reproducing and re-releasing recycled versions of OK Computer and What's the Story Morning Glory? Well, if the Cooper Temple Clause's second full-length album, Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose, is the evidence submitted, then, yes. These Reading natives channel both landmark Brit bands – but also invoke a host of other worthy influences. While the Cooper Temple Clause may have serious ties to the mother country, the band succeeds in moving within and beyond its preordained genre of alt rock.
The six members of the band are all self-proclaimed outcasts, getting together in high school and forming a band basically because there was nothing else to do in Hertfordshire. The band released two EPs in 2000 and, after landing a deal with RCA, released their full-length debut, See This Through and Leave in 2001. The band members freely admit that they don't play their instruments particularly well, and according to their bio are "bad musicians who just get a sound out". Apparently, a fresher sound results from this lack of musical chops. That's debatable. It's possible for a bunch of guys to produce their own, unique sound simply because they don't know how to play other peoples' music. Case in point: U2. When those kids were 18, they couldn't play anyone else's music so they created some crazy and totally original punk/soul hybrid. On the other side of the spectrum, your band may come up short in the mechanical skills department, and to make up for it, can only sound like other influential bands.
This is at least partly the case on Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose. "The Same Mistakes" is an interesting choice for an album opener. It's a slow burner that builds and spirals upward, but doesn't ever really pay off. Front man Ben Gautrey's voice is restrained and cool. He doesn't risk much with this first track. The real artistry comes from guitarists Dan Fisher and Tom Bellamy. The sounds they create are soft and moody, reminiscent of the Edge's more tranquil work.
"Promise Promise", the first single and the heaviest song on the album, allows Gautrey to really showcase his rough, gravel-filled voice. This mosh-friendly metal tune is the perfect first single – under three-and-a-half minutes, shamelessly aggressive, and Gautrey provides an almost perfect imitation of Liam Gallagher's howl.
"New Toys" switches gears as the band delves into electronic rhythms, synthesizers courtesy of Bellamy and programmer, Kieran Mahon, and an overall IDM sensibility. Drummer Jon Harper creates intricate drum 'n' bass-tinged beats that give the otherwise poppy song a darker and more complicated feel.
Pretty much every band member sings on the next track, "Talking to a Brick Wall", and quite, frankly, it's a disconcerting sound. The voices combine with some haunted circus-style synthesizers to create a creepy atmosphere that becomes bearable only when the chorus kicks in and the power of six people playing at once takes over.
"Blind Pilots", a new wave-infused '80s throwback and one of the strongest and slickest tracks on Kick Up the Fire, channels both the Smiths and the Cure with the instrumentally spare verses. However, by the chorus, Liam Gallagher is back.
This pattern continues throughout the album. The band members produce huge sounds reminiscent of Primal Scream, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails, but when Gautrey opens his mouth – there's Liam! For some, this could be problematic. Imitation's worthless when the real thing already exists. For others, the combination of sounds from all these great bands is valuable in and of itself.
Even though these guys aren't stellar musicians, they're far from untalented. Yes, they've got the shag haircuts, the loose-fitting jeans, and the retro hoodies, but they also work well together. The Cooper Temple Clause is a good band – cohesive and confident. Worth more than one listen.
look not everyone likes Muse "Absolution" either… complete with yet another one of those pesky Radiohead comparisons. i'm starving who is going to feed me…
I was going to start out this review by drawing a comparison between Radiohead and Muse, but Craig has threatened to hit me over the head with a tire iron if I do that. Therefore, I'm instead going to start by stating that this record is, like most Radiohead releases, pretentious in the extreme, full of cryptic lyrics and paranoia, and almost seems to be deliberately trying to alienate you. But they're definitely not like Radiohead, not one iota.
Unfortunately, "Absolution" is different from that other album released at roughly the same time by a band that probably isn't Radiohead. While that album was charming and listenable despite its air pretentiousness and exclusivity, "Absolution" is a frustrating listen because of it. This might be due to the fact that Muse apparently don't know the meaning of subtlety, while the musician who might be Thom Yorke but probably isn't is a master of crafting subtle nuances in music, Muse blunder along with all the restraint of a right-wing radio talk show host. While this directness is appealing in many ways, it doesn't take long to move from being appealing to being annoying. To be precise, it takes two songs to become irritating.
After a brief opening track, the first song, Apocalypse Please, opens up with a crashing piano line, and some typical lyrics from Matthew Bellamy about god-knows-what. It sounds like he's prophesising the end of the world, and not just because the song chorus is "This is the end, this is the end of the world!". The music is dense, heavy, and incredibly direct. Don't bother looking for subtext here, just let the music bowl you over. The next track, Time Is Running Out is less a song than a collection of hooks. Starting out with a fuzzy bassline, it moves from chorus to chorus without ever going through any intermediate stages. It's unsubtle, tactless, and yet somehow a decent enough song.
At this point though, you start to yearn for something a bit more conceptually complicated, something with a bit more substance. Unfortunately, Muse fail to deliver. Sing For Absolution, for instance, is a five-minute borefest that only manages to directly convey the ideals of tedium and dreariness. Stockholm Syndrome is a rocker with nothing much to recommend it at all. Hysteria is built around a riff that sounds like the riff that Stockholm Syndrome is built around, but played a bit slower. Butterflies and Hurricanes might be a song with a decent title, but that's about all that's decent about it. Endlessly is so pompous and over-dramatic that makes you wonder if these three would be better suited to a career in the theatre, instead of in rock music.
In closing, it doesn't look like I'll have to make a comparison to Radiohead after all. Radiohead are intricate, subtle, and delicate with their music. Muse on the other hand, are direct, clumsy, and overly fond of musical theatrics. I don't know about anyone else, but I like my music to be filled with emotion and depth, not melodrama.
- Cianan Delahunty
Cianan's Rating: 3.7
Halo-17
I was going to start out this review by drawing a comparison between Radiohead and Muse, but Craig has threatened to hit me over the head with a tire iron if I do that. Therefore, I'm instead going to start by stating that this record is, like most Radiohead releases, pretentious in the extreme, full of cryptic lyrics and paranoia, and almost seems to be deliberately trying to alienate you. But they're definitely not like Radiohead, not one iota.
Unfortunately, "Absolution" is different from that other album released at roughly the same time by a band that probably isn't Radiohead. While that album was charming and listenable despite its air pretentiousness and exclusivity, "Absolution" is a frustrating listen because of it. This might be due to the fact that Muse apparently don't know the meaning of subtlety, while the musician who might be Thom Yorke but probably isn't is a master of crafting subtle nuances in music, Muse blunder along with all the restraint of a right-wing radio talk show host. While this directness is appealing in many ways, it doesn't take long to move from being appealing to being annoying. To be precise, it takes two songs to become irritating.
After a brief opening track, the first song, Apocalypse Please, opens up with a crashing piano line, and some typical lyrics from Matthew Bellamy about god-knows-what. It sounds like he's prophesising the end of the world, and not just because the song chorus is "This is the end, this is the end of the world!". The music is dense, heavy, and incredibly direct. Don't bother looking for subtext here, just let the music bowl you over. The next track, Time Is Running Out is less a song than a collection of hooks. Starting out with a fuzzy bassline, it moves from chorus to chorus without ever going through any intermediate stages. It's unsubtle, tactless, and yet somehow a decent enough song.
At this point though, you start to yearn for something a bit more conceptually complicated, something with a bit more substance. Unfortunately, Muse fail to deliver. Sing For Absolution, for instance, is a five-minute borefest that only manages to directly convey the ideals of tedium and dreariness. Stockholm Syndrome is a rocker with nothing much to recommend it at all. Hysteria is built around a riff that sounds like the riff that Stockholm Syndrome is built around, but played a bit slower. Butterflies and Hurricanes might be a song with a decent title, but that's about all that's decent about it. Endlessly is so pompous and over-dramatic that makes you wonder if these three would be better suited to a career in the theatre, instead of in rock music.
In closing, it doesn't look like I'll have to make a comparison to Radiohead after all. Radiohead are intricate, subtle, and delicate with their music. Muse on the other hand, are direct, clumsy, and overly fond of musical theatrics. I don't know about anyone else, but I like my music to be filled with emotion and depth, not melodrama.
- Cianan Delahunty
Cianan's Rating: 3.7
Halo-17
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:What an annoying as hell review…look, he's not gonna talk about Radiohead, except for the whole opening and closing paragraphs.
I was going to start out this review by drawing a comparison between Radiohead and Muse, but Craig has threatened to hit me over the head with a tire iron if I do that. Therefore, I'm instead going to start by stating that this record is, like most Radiohead releases, pretentious in the extreme, full of cryptic lyrics and paranoia, and almost seems to be deliberately trying to alienate you. But they're definitely not like Radiohead, not one iota.
I am SO SICK of Radiohead invocations at every turn – "you're an English band? Let's stack you up against Radiohead…you're like Radiohead, you're not like Radiohead, you diverge from Radiohead when you do this…."
AAAAaaaaaarrrrggghhh….. :mad:
google muse radiohead review and one will find several instances where the two bands are compared and contrasted. i'm not saying it's bad or good, my intial point was to find a "negative" review of someone else sacred cow… who have been tagged with the radiohead comparsion since their first record, even pitchford did it :D
Originally posted by Rutherford J. Balls:Thanks for balancing it out with a positive review, Rutherford. I apologize for lashing out last night. I was tired and sick and easily annoyed. (Though I still hold that Rolling Stone sucks.)
From popmatters:
…The Cooper Temple Clause is a good band – cohesive and confident. Worth more than one listen.
Bring on March 5th and Team Cooper!!
March 16, 2004
ROCK REVIEW | THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE
Surging Rock and Songs of Romantic Discord
By JON PARELES, The New York Times
Rock abhors a vacuum, and the Cooper Temple Clause, the British band that played at the Bowery Ballroom on March 9, neatly fills two of them. In the gap between Radiohead albums, the Cooper Temple Clause has released its second album, "Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose" (Morning/BMG). It is full of morose songs knocked around by percussion and outbreaks of noise. And where Radiohead has lately been thinking about power and alienation, the Cooper Temple Clause has moved in to supply what Radiohead doesn't: love songs.
They're distressed love songs, of course. The one that started the set called love a "beautiful disease," and most of the others were full of misgivings and reproaches, sung in Ben Gautrey's bitterly haggard voice. His raspy vocals went with ominous chords from distorted guitars and electronic noises, both live and sampled, that kept the music unsettled. Many songs grappled within themselves: an undertow of bass dragging against a surging rock beat, a ballad phrase shattered by bursts of percussion.
Those strategies, and a few chord changes, came from the Radiohead playbook, and the Cooper Temple Clause has acquired them fairly recently. "Kick Up the Fire…," released last year in Britain, is the band's second album. Songs from its first album, "See Through This and Leave" (Morning), released in 2002 in Britain, were equally glum - "Who needs enemies when you've got friends?," one sneered - but less musically convoluted.
Yet even as it grabs Radiohead's coattails, the Cooper Temple Clause has its own gifts of full-fledged melodies, musicianship to follow through on Radiohead's complexities, persuasive lyrics that have clearly observed a lot of romantic discord. Radiohead had to start somewhere too - leaning on U2, Pink Floyd and R.E.M. - and the Cooper Temple Clause is developing fast.
Calla, which shared the bill, is also evolving. It's no longer the slow, brooding band it was when it started playing New York gigs, though it still savors swelling, echoing drones and tolling bass lines. Lately, Calla has expanded from a trio to a four-man band, which allows it to build expansive two-guitar textures. It has also boosted its tempos and clarified its song structures, so there's new muscle behind its death-haunted songs. And while the mood is somber, the band hasn't entirely succumbed to seriousness; one song segued into the three-chord chorus from the old Donovan hit "Atlantis."
ROCK REVIEW | THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE
Surging Rock and Songs of Romantic Discord
By JON PARELES, The New York Times
Rock abhors a vacuum, and the Cooper Temple Clause, the British band that played at the Bowery Ballroom on March 9, neatly fills two of them. In the gap between Radiohead albums, the Cooper Temple Clause has released its second album, "Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose" (Morning/BMG). It is full of morose songs knocked around by percussion and outbreaks of noise. And where Radiohead has lately been thinking about power and alienation, the Cooper Temple Clause has moved in to supply what Radiohead doesn't: love songs.
They're distressed love songs, of course. The one that started the set called love a "beautiful disease," and most of the others were full of misgivings and reproaches, sung in Ben Gautrey's bitterly haggard voice. His raspy vocals went with ominous chords from distorted guitars and electronic noises, both live and sampled, that kept the music unsettled. Many songs grappled within themselves: an undertow of bass dragging against a surging rock beat, a ballad phrase shattered by bursts of percussion.
Those strategies, and a few chord changes, came from the Radiohead playbook, and the Cooper Temple Clause has acquired them fairly recently. "Kick Up the Fire…," released last year in Britain, is the band's second album. Songs from its first album, "See Through This and Leave" (Morning), released in 2002 in Britain, were equally glum - "Who needs enemies when you've got friends?," one sneered - but less musically convoluted.
Yet even as it grabs Radiohead's coattails, the Cooper Temple Clause has its own gifts of full-fledged melodies, musicianship to follow through on Radiohead's complexities, persuasive lyrics that have clearly observed a lot of romantic discord. Radiohead had to start somewhere too - leaning on U2, Pink Floyd and R.E.M. - and the Cooper Temple Clause is developing fast.
Calla, which shared the bill, is also evolving. It's no longer the slow, brooding band it was when it started playing New York gigs, though it still savors swelling, echoing drones and tolling bass lines. Lately, Calla has expanded from a trio to a four-man band, which allows it to build expansive two-guitar textures. It has also boosted its tempos and clarified its song structures, so there's new muscle behind its death-haunted songs. And while the mood is somber, the band hasn't entirely succumbed to seriousness; one song segued into the three-chord chorus from the old Donovan hit "Atlantis."