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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A State Of Incomprehension, 15 Jan 2007
I'I've waited almost four years for this album, with increasing desperation. Dropped by BMG and finally picked out of label-less limbo by Sanctuary, it was looking increasingly bleak for Reading's finest. They were also rocked by the departure of one of the nation's coolest bassists, Didz Hammond. With this aurora of looming disaster, I suppose I should be thankful that the creators of my favourite (`See This Through And Leave') and sixth-favourite (`Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose') albums of all time actually got round to releasing `Make This Your Own' at all.
The album has been preceded by two fine singles; `Damage', a gig and download only promo, and `Homo Sapiens'. These two open the album, and they are straight-out rockers, with a slight more FM-friendly sound than efforts such as `Panzer Attack', `A.I.M' and `Been Training Dogs'. They are in fact similar to the singles pairing off the last album, `Blind Pilots' and `Promises, Promises'. They open the album well enough, but really can't compare to previous openers.
Next up is `Head', a recent live favourite. It opens with brooding menace, and continues with a repeated refrain of `You want to leave, but you can't forget about it' above a glorious synth-riff. This is The Coopers of old, twisting simple melodies into electronic balls of sonic force.
`Connect', which follows, carries on in the same vein. Upon my first listens to the album, I think this is a standout. It rollicks along on a baseline oddly similar to Donna Summer's `I Feel Loved'... and then breaks down into a cracking harmonised chorus. One problem I have with this, and `Head' is that they seem weedily produced. One criticism of previous efforts is that they are over-produced, but these just lack the mid-range and low thump that TCTC used to feature as de rigueur.
`Waiting Game', the third single to be lifted and a narrow Top-40 miss in its first week, is a strange beast. To my ears it sounds like Placebo, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they shouldn't have to revert to such indie-lite tracks like this, especially with the terribly clichéd guitar solo at the end. Yet despite this, I can't help liking it, in that really catchy, soaring way!!
The next track, `Once More With Feeling' opens with standard practice Coopers bleeps and swipes, and proceeds into a metallic drone. Unfortunately, for all its great sonics, the track just doesn't go anywhere. The problems continue with the next track `What Have You Gone And Done?', again with the vocals sounding like Placebo. The lyrics to this are boring, the music flat, and without this track the album would be so much stronger.
`Take Comfort' is rubbish. It starts with off-kilter drums and acoustic strumming and it doesn't get any better from then. It sounds like the Coral, and again this would be fine if it was from them. But it isn't. It just isn't the Coopers.
Thankfully, `All I See Is You' is them in their full aural assault mode. Again starting slow, with scratchy static noise and bass fades. It builds slowly with a real haunting piano riff, and then in a crescendo of heavy guitar descends into noisy heaven complete with Gautrey trademark wail. Along with `Connect' this is a standout, and would have sat brilliantly on either of the previous efforts.
`Isn't It Strange' starts with a similar burbling synth to `Head', and again is a builder. It also has one of the best vocals on the record, with a strong backing riff.
`House of Cards' opens with church bells ringing in the background, and more vocal harmonising. It is a strong closer, but compared to `Written Apology' it just doesn't compare.
My overall thoughts on this album are mixed. It contains two of TCTC's weakest ever efforts in `What Have You Gone And Done?' and `Take Comfort', yet tracks like `Homo Sapiens', `Head', `Connect' and `All I See Is You' show that beneath the poppy mainstream sheen, the old experimental noisy beast still lurks. It is reckoned that the band wanted to set out to make a more mainstream album, and in that respect they have succeeded.
What irks me the most however, is that for a band renowned for pushing sonic boundaries, they pull back from the brink and step into a comfort zone. I have always felt TCTC are at their best when you are at your most uncomfortable, tracks like `Panzer Attack', `The Lake' and `A.I.M.'. This is a comfortable album, which is strange given the circumstances it was conceived under.
Yet after all this, I still can't help liking this album. For a start, they're still here, live and kicking. It is also an optimistic album; in places it's almost a love album. Its lurch into the mainstream may also buy them security to put another album out. Hopefully, they can make a return to pushing the envelope, and making music that challenges the listener.
Worth the wait? Just. They remain my favourite band, and I shall champion their cause as I have for almost six years now. If it were any other band, I'd give it three stars. But they aren't, so it's four.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I don't wanna kill anymore..., 13 Feb 2007
Firstly, I got into the coopers the minute they came out, why? Back then I was an angry young man who needed music to get drunk and break stuff to. They provided me with the ammo. This has since changed, although I still think STTAL is one of my favourite albums of all time, I have moved on from that phase. Regarding a few of the review on this page (and the offical forum) I think a few of the Team Cooper fans hold themselves in very high regard bordering on pretentious, some even cross the line and are pure snobbish.
If you were to hold this album up to the other two It's obviously not going to be the same, things change etc. But it's not a bad album it just lacks the innovation the others had in abundance, but to be fair these boys had to make a go at breaking the big time I can't see any record company holding onto a flailing band.
Unfortunately their choice to go commercial failed to attract their target audience and also alienated a lot of interested ears/fans. If you were to hold this album up stuff from other bands out there then It would compete with any of them as far as melodies and accessability goes, but there just wasn't enough PR or push from the record company which suggests to me that the Cooper Temple Clause could be soon going unvoluntarily indie, which is a shame.
I recommend this album because I have held it up against the efforts from other bands and not the bands past offerings. Surely the Cooper Temple Clause can get away with 'Waiting Game' if the Kaiser Cheifs can get away with a song, so clichéd in 'Ruby' it's embarrassing, and still be called great.
Unfortunately for too many fan's it just wasn't the time or the place, and a band that once let them arrogantly point fun at commerical loving funsters for their lack of innovation (whilst all the time craving success for the Coopers), has now gone and set fire to their very pedistal.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ignore the NME, this is amazing!!!, 11 Jan 2007
The NME have given this album 4/10. There must have been something dodgy with their copy as this is one of the strongest albums you will hear all year. It's easily as good as Bloc Party's second offering which will probably get a 9 rating in the aformentioned music rag. But anyhow, the standard here is equal to the first two albums from the Coopers. Head and Connect are two incredible electric based songs which would sound fantastic in a club whilst Homosapiens is TCTC at their most fearsome. The tender moments on this album are beautiful,. Waiting Game has not got the airplay it deserves. Had it been written by Snow Patrol it probably would have gone top 5. Take Comfort is The Cooper Temple Clause as you have never heard them before, acoustic and almost folk in style it features some of the album's most affecting lyrics which across the LP are of a very high standard.
I can't recommend this album highly enough. The range of styles and approaches to songwriting on Make This Your Own are vast and varied meaning there is something here for every taste whilst still managing to sound cohesive.
Make This Your Own right now.
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