Copeland

Item: In Motion
Author: Phil Nichols

In Motion

(2005)

Reviewed by Phil Nichols

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Label The Militia GroupDecapolisMay 2005

alternative rock emo indie rock

Girls like Copeland.

It must be some sort of internal, congenital mechanism within the female mind, but from my (admittedly limited) research, I have found that most girls involuntarily shriek with delight or swoon at the sound of Aaron Marsh's whimsical crooning.

This was my initial reasoning for looking into Copeland's music. I figured that if (a) Girls like Copeland and (b) I like Copeland, then it would logically follow that I have an icebreaker, an instant conversation starter: I could walk up to any girl, say "Copeland", and instantly her heart would melt and she would gaze longingly into my eyes. It was the perfect scheme. By listening to Copeland I would have one up on the rest of my gender.

But as I began to listen to them and talk about them with friends, enemies, and strangers on the street, I soon discovered the flaw in my plan:

Guys like Copeland.

Girls, guys, infants, and senior citizens alike, all seem to adore Copeland. As an astute reader would most likely guess, my plan had failed. So here I was, left alone on a Friday night with a copy of Copeland's new album, In Motion, and no date (or interest of any member of the opposite sex, for that matter) to speak of. I decided that it might be productive to use this lonely Friday evening downtime to listen through In Motion objectively -- to weigh it by it's artistic merit, rather than it's ability to hook a brother up (ironically, it is most likely these pathetic colloquialisms that prevent this brother from actually hooking up in the first place).

As it turns out: In Motion, while it may not be new or groundbreaking, is a terrific record and is well worth much of the hype that has surrounded its release. As a Militia Group band, Copeland is often pigeonholed along side the legions of emo bands vying for the next nanosecond of their demographic's attention. The first fifteen seconds of the album prove this to be an invalid generalization. The guitar lines, the basslines, the persistant drumming all combine to form a distinct sound, which becomes even more distinct as Aaron's soaring vocals (void of the self-loathing whine that seems to permeate much of the emo scene) enter the picture.

As the album progresses, the maturity and uniqueness of the band's sound continue to shine. Copeland experiments with some uncharacteristically faster songs like "No One Really Wins", "Pin Your Wings" and "Love Is A Fast Song", but has not retreated altogether from their serene love songs of Beneath Medicine Tree, which is evidenced in the closing acoustic track, "Hold Nothing Back". Vocally, Aaron's singing on "Kite" shows just how wide of a range he has; he hits high alto notes with as much ease as he does the lower tenor notes without his voice sounding the least bit forced or strained. Musically, there is experimentation with some different timings and also enough diversity between the rock songs, piano ballads, and acoustic tracks to keep the entire album interesting from start to finish.

One of the few downsides I saw on the record was the lyrics. They went well with the music, but I felt like some of the imagery and wording were not as effective as they could have been. I think the simplicity of the lyrics was helpful on the choruses, where wordiness can feel forced or awkward, but was detrimental in some of the verses.

In their existence as a band, Copeland has released two great albums and managed to also put out a decent covers EP. They are still growing and maturing as musicians, but it is apparent that they are already better than many of the bands with whom they are often grouped. It should be interesting to see what the future holds for these guys; if they continue to build off what they have already established, the possiblities are endless. Their sound is catchy, their music is interesting, and their vocals are intriguing, there is nothing holding them back from becoming the next mainstream success story. And with records like this: they deserve much more attention.

The moral of the story is: if you like melodic rock, then give Copeland a try, even if it's for the wrong reasons. In Motion may not have found me a date, but it did give me the satisfaction of knowing that there are decent albums being released, you just have to find them.

3/4