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High octane, genre defying, musical highwaymen. They
twist, mangle, and invite journalistic superlatives
like no one else, whilst making a mockery of any attempt
to cajole them into a specific genre. As image goes,
they’re more than able to give Busted a run for
their pocket money in the boy band stakes, and unlike
the aforementioned, The Cooper Temple Cluase possess
a real musical punch and prowess that’s still being
felt after they gate crashed the conventional indie
genre back in 2002. Bracketed under the indie moniker,
it doesn’t begin to tell a fraction of the story; a
converted pig farm for a studio, hiring band members
for their instruments, and of course, the infamous hair.
All this could be excerpts from any rocker worth their
salt, but in The Cooper Temple Clause’s case, it isn’t
applicable just yet.
Musically, their loose cannon, frantic and at times
megalomaniac approach to music saw them storm and stomp
into what was the plain sailing indie scene with frothing
debut ‘See This Through And Leave’. Dank with hurt,
dripping with aggression, and practically dissolving
in its own angst, its music to hate your parents, stamp
up the stairs, slam doors and trash your room too. With
a cascade of different styles not so much as welded
together, but forced together and hammered into a writhing
form, it’s no surprise that their style has been as
much acclaimed as it was criticised. Contradictory?
It’s about as succinct as you get with this band.
‘Kick Up The fire And Let The Flames Break Loose’ their
second album has seen maturity and structure emerge
from the chaos left by ‘See This Through’. After outgrowing
their ‘potential’ tag, and amassing what resembles a
small army in the U.K, a fully-fledged assault is underway
on the U.S. As George W. and his cronies seem to relish
confrontation these days, TCTC look to make sure things
aren’t so quiet on the music front at least. With the
chance of them leading a revolution and ousting George
Bush being as likely as Didz becoming the next U.S President,
a Billboard Top 50 slot would suffice, especially as
Didz is prone to coming out with gems like ‘I just want
to meet some weirdo’s’ Profound. Actually George, hold
that thought, you might have a new rival… or speech
writer…
As TCTC look to emulate the international success of
U2 and Radiohead, whilst walking the notoriously
fickle and demanding U.S. music public tightrope, initial
responses have been good. After defining themselves
in the U.K, they already face the prospect of being
the mongrel lovechild of Oasis and Radiohead:
‘the reaction seems really good, people are really positive.
I think we’ve been described as a cross between Radiohead
and Oasis which is interesting’.
First impressions count for a lot, never more so when
bands decide to make the transition to over the pond.
So being compared to two of Britain’s most successful
international bands might put some pressure on a still
developing band. It might generate some pressure, nerves,
fear, anxiety? ‘No the nerves are at bay’ Didz coolly
states. End of story then.
For a band just enjoying the experience, the excitement
must surely be getting too much: ‘I’m looking forward
to playing the little Jazz bars, the Blues Brothers
style venues. Half empty and probably some weirdo’s
about. Not that I’d talk to them or anything.’ Its official
– Didz is a fan of dinge, dives and weirdo’s. Would
you expect any less? ‘People have their opinions and
when you open yourselves up musically as a band too
feedback you hope other people will get it. See this
through and leave was written to survive. Being a young
band at the time it was something to measure ourselves
against.’ And all this for a band who were dubbed as
the bright young things to push British guitar music
forward.
Unlike other highly anticipated second albums, notably
‘Room On Fire’ and ‘Take Them On, On Your Own’, ‘Kick
Up The Fire And Let the Flames Break Lose’ has been
widely accepted as a step forward from their debut:
‘It’s definitely more mature than ‘See This Through’.
We didn’t want to make the same album again. Because
the processes were so different we just wanted to see
what came out. But we definitely had strong intentions
of not making the same record twice’. And that they
didn’t. Reason and reflection replaced the angst and
aggression, but the musical identity unmistakably remains:
‘You can get into a lot of different headspace over
3 years than 1 year which is what ‘Kick up the fire’
was written over.’
Aaaaaand so we come to the hair. When your haircut
makes more headlines than your music, you’re bound to
feel a little aggrieved: ‘Yeah it’s annoying and frustrating.
It’s not quite resentment but someone’s always talking
about our hair or something.’
Faced with the pressure of reinventing guitar music,
two albums in, it’s looking pretty peach and creamy
for them, not that artistes are ever content. ‘I’d like
to think we’ve still got a lot of potential. We’ve still
got that hunger to chase that quality and we’ll keep
challenging ourselves.’
More popular than the tamagotchi in Japan, a cult following
to rival any in the U.K, and mid-way through a U.S tour.
From the jazz bars to a gig at Red rock? ‘We’ll see
what happens’.
Relevant sites:
http://www.thecoopertempleclause.com/
Sherief Younis for Crud Magazine 2004©
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