THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE

A couple of years ago a friend introduced me to this band and little by little I could appreciate them until I really enjoyed them. Well, actually my only experience is this 2003 album called "Kick up the Fire and let the Flames break loose", but for what I've read, this may be their most representative album. Never thought they were a progressive rock band, but now they are included to the archives, I can write this review.

The Cooper Temple Clause were a UK band formed in the late 90´s, they only released three albums, this was their second. It features ten compositions and a total time of 53 minutes of pretty good alternative rock (yeah, with some hints of prog, if you wish). The opener track is actually my favorite, "The Same Mistakes" is a song a truly enjoy and play very often, I like how it starts delicate and then becomes stronger, with fabulous keyboard atmospheres and a great voice.

"Promises promises" is a much heavier track, a decent one but not really my cup of tea, however, it is catchy an easy to sing. "New Toys" contrasts with the previous one, this is soft and so electronic. The atmosphere is sweet almost all the time, the guitar and keyboard work is wonderful here, and that along by the voice make a great song. This is one of their best compositions, without a doubt.

"Talking to a Brick Wall" is a strange but original composition, the noises and voices complement each other and create a darker sound. Then the song changes a little bit, more evident in the chorus, where the voices remind me a bit to Liam Gallagher. "Into my Arms" shares calm and even peace, it is so soft that you can feel relaxed, or maybe with sorrow, it may make you think. Musically is not their best, of course, though the last two minutes of electronic music sounds pretty cool.

"Blind Pilots" might be the catchiest of them all, which does not mean it loses quality, not at all, but it is easily recognizable and lovable, a nice example of an alternative I-want-to-sing- that song. "AIM" is a nice track where the electronics predominate once again. I like that combination of aggressive electronic sound with soft and even sweet voice. This is another of my favorite tracks, the chorus is addictive and once again, catchy, but cool. The last minutes are heavier, great.

"Music Box" may be one of the reasons people link the band with prog rock. It starts soft and slowly progresses, the guitar sound is pretty cool all over the track, and the keyboard noises create tense atmospheres, which make a really interesting song. After a couple of minutes it is progressing and becoming heavier, tenser, nervous, but at the same time outstanding, until it stops. But wait, stopped just for some seconds because then explodes and becomes more powerful. An excellent track!

"In Your Prime" is the shortest and probably the weakest track. Some noises and vocals, nothing more. On the other hand, "Written Apology" is the longest song, a ten-minute track that works as a summary of this album's sound, I mean, the efficient and predominant electronic sound, accompanied by guitars and the softness of the voice. Here, there is also a nice piano that gives a relaxed mood that continues for some minutes. Then the music begins to progress and change the direction, until it turns really different. A cool and interesting song to close this cool album.

Honestly, I really like this album, I enjoy it every single time I play it, my personal rating would be four stars, and I would actually recommend it, but for this site, I believe three stars is more accurate. I invite you to listen to it if you like alternative rock, with electronic sound and mellow vocals.

Enjoy it!

This is another one of my charity shop finds, and I was glad beacause I had been looking for this album for ages.

The sound theseguys make is quite interesting, mixing alternative rock with electronica, art rock and at times atomopsheric prog and even a space rock vibe can be heard.

This album does have a very arty feel to it, which makes it so good in fact.

I don't have any other albums from these guys, and sadly they won't be making anymore, because they broke up, not a while ago, which is a shame, because these guys were really good.

1. The Same Mistakes - Love the build up in atmosphere. Love the climas at the end. A wee bit droney and repetative to be honest. 7/10

2. Promises, Promises - I think this was the first song I had heard from these guys. This wasn't the song that got me into them, but I remember it still being pretty cool.Kick ass riff. Very The Strokes and at times a wee bit grungy. Great chorus. 9/10

3. New Toys - Very Massive Attack meets Porcupine Tree. Amazing song with some amazing use of electronics. 9/10

4. Talking to A Brick Wall - Love the change in dynamics and the use of noise. Pretty cool chorus. 8/10

5. Into My Arms - Very laid back with some cool vocal overdubs. Reminds me of Thrice. Quite nice. Love the noisy ending. 8/10

6.Blind Pilots - Now this is the song that got me into these guys. This is their magnum opus. Just a great song with a magnificent chorus and build up throughout. It wasn't the song that really got me into them, but the music video. Watch it now on You Tube, it really is the greatest music video you will ever see. Very weird and quite scary. 10/10

7. A.I.M. - Love the dirty synth riff in this song. Very Massive Attack. Pretty cool chorus. This song does have a very Smashing Pumpkins Ava Adore vibe to it, but that is amazing song as well. The riff at the end kicks major ass. 9/10

8. Music Box - Another song ful of dynamic changes. The riff near the end is another Smashing Pumpkins esque ass kicker. 8/10

9. In Your Prime - Very Nick Cave meets Sonic Youth. Quite weird, but in a wonderfull way. 8/10.

10. Written Apology - Love the soft nature of this song. The piano chords over the guitar and vocals add to the solemn atmosphere. I love how this song just builds up throughout. The endng is very Merzbow meets The Orb. 9/10

CONCLUSION: This band was very underlooked, and they really needed more attention than they got, because they had alot more than we wanted from them. Sadly, they will be missed.