Copeland
Beneath Medicine Tree
The Militia Group
Copeland’s music can best be described as neutered, watered-down pop songs intended for an audience donning Belle & Sebastian and Rainer Maria t-shirts. This entire disc sounds like little more than longing break-up songs that lack punch, reason, finality, or a point. When listening to this, I am reminded of Oasis and other guitar driven, watered down “rock” groups. I guess I could best liken this to The Get Up Kids’ aimless On a Wire record. Like that GUK record, Beneath Medicine Tree has the potential to grow into something large and powerful, but instead remains tepid, for whatever reason.
In Copeland’s defense, “Walking Downtown” is a spectacular song. It shows the band cutting loose, letting go of their emo pretensions and just rockin’ out. The vocals are still pretty sissified (sounding like Craig Wedren, strangely enough), but the drummer is rockin’ out, the guitarists seem much more free and things just sound “right.” This song reminds me of a more feminine version of Chamberlain, yet it’s by far the album’s standout track. If Copeland made an entire album like this track, I’d buy it without hesitation, as I have a soft spot in my heart for the meek and wussy. Sadly though, these guys are wimpier than they should be, and this album just comes off as forgettable and pointless.
The Militia Group: http://www.themilitiagroup.com/
