Local Record Review: 'Reassemble/Reappear' by Copia
Categories: Beat Blvd.
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Copia
Reassemble/Reappear
http://copiaband.com
Long Beach's Copia know from their moodily romantic 21st century postpunk that's equal parts British Isles and North America -- indeed, that's not only the core thing to say about them, in respects it's almost the only thing to say about their debut EP. Reassemble/Reappear finds the quintet working very much within a form and style, and as such they're not yet making a strong mark of their own, but it's the kind of effort that is still effortlessly enjoyable for what it is.
The EP's starting track "Dead End Future" helps to clarify where they're coming from: there's a classically high, bright and clean sound to their work, gently melodramatic and carefully sculpted, a bit more energetic than Coldplay but far less fraught than Interpol. The closing "Sleepyhead" is also notable, a slow burn of a song that starts off contemplative but, like "Dead End Future," builds up a bit as it goes -- perhaps not to Arcade Fire overdrive levels, but in accomplished-enough form.
The remaining songs are more of a mix and a type, keyboards taking lead roles (notably during the break on "Conversations") and calm, softer voiced singing set against sometimes more energetic rhythms, a bit of low key tension. Nothing leaps out as a breakout song but it's a step above simple woodshedding, the kind of understated ambition that drives not only the sound of acts in this vein but, presumably, their own overall approach. It's a familiar start on balance, but nonetheless, a start.
"Reassemble/Reappear" can be purchased on iTunes and heard on copia.bandcamp.com/
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Copia
Reassemble/Reappear
http://copiaband.com
Long Beach's Copia know from their moodily romantic 21st century postpunk that's equal parts British Isles and North America -- indeed, that's not only the core thing to say about them, in respects it's almost the only thing to say about their debut EP. Reassemble/Reappear finds the quintet working very much within a form and style, and as such they're not yet making a strong mark of their own, but it's the kind of effort that is still effortlessly enjoyable for what it is.
The remaining songs are more of a mix and a type, keyboards taking lead roles (notably during the break on "Conversations") and calm, softer voiced singing set against sometimes more energetic rhythms, a bit of low key tension. Nothing leaps out as a breakout song but it's a step above simple woodshedding, the kind of understated ambition that drives not only the sound of acts in this vein but, presumably, their own overall approach. It's a familiar start on balance, but nonetheless, a start.
"Reassemble/Reappear" can be purchased on iTunes and heard on copia.bandcamp.com/
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