The Cooper Temple Clause - 'See This Through & Leave' (Morning)
4/5
By: Andrew Future
It's almost 3am, things are peaceful. There's an empty car-park with wide-eyed white bruisers of lights unearthing long shadows over each other. Equally saint and lethargic lies the massive electrical store. It's not like any electrical store, however. It doesn't sell items as such, more 'entities', 'feelings' and - more importantly - 'spirits'. The spirits of great bands of the past. Kkkkbammmm! Out of nowhere, a transit van through the main window. Ram-raid. It's a f**king mess. Unhurt, out-step The Cooper Temple Clause. Not content with pummeling the bloody remains of the New Acoustic Movement into the asphalt on the live circuit in 2001, it would seem they want your Virgin and HMV vouchers as well.
The Reading sextet has rock ideals higher than their equally amazing hair. Stealing tins of Radiohead, Led Zep and Sab, washing it down with some Pearl Jam, Pixies and Charlatans, 'See This Through And Leave' is a stormy relationship full of glorious sex and dangerous shouting matches. It's a short-term affair, but you wouldn't wanna change it: just turn it up and break stuff.
Describing the Coopers' music is a bit like smashing someone's head open on the pavement and describing that. It's all a bit of a mess really. They do metal-grating electronica (see armoured up 'Panzer Attack'), space-noise (toxic opener 'Did You Miss Me?') to match the full-on Primals-esque confrontation of their latest release, 'Film Maker'. It's dramatic, if a little soulless at times. Gaultrey's vocals stone you against a wall with their gritty, sneering destruction, and you couldn't pick a better narrator for these deranged tales of modern blissful living; (see 'Been Training Dogs' and 'Murder Song').
It's all very far-fetched, but 'See This Through And Leave' is an outstanding debut by the country's best new act bar none. Bring their ear-bleeding live show home and play it back to back with Starsailor or Turin Brakes, I dare you. Better songs await, and, with another performance on 'Top Of The Progs', maybe superstardom will too. Oh, and if you can, try and catch the Ltd Edition CD, which contains tracks from their debut EP, 'Devil Walks In The Sand'...
Artists in this article: The Cooper Temple Clause
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