Blake Solomon
01/30/09, 01:30 AM
Copy Haho - Bred for Skills & Magic EP
Record Label: Big Scary Monsters Records
Release Date: February, 2009
At a certain point one has to wonder, “When will Big Scary Monsters let me down?” It didn’t happen with This Town Needs Guns. It surely didn’t happen with Blakfish. And when the Bred for Skills & Magic EP dropped in my lap, well, you see where this is going. Either this Britain-based label is actually a figment of my imagination, or these guys are just honed into my musical lust-o-meter. Copy Haho is relatively new to those outside Scotland, but their sound wouldn’t sound out of place in 90’s Los Angeles: the “easy” comparison is to Pavement. While such an evaluation may cause extra scrutiny from the hipster elite, it also causes instant cases of “I gotta hear that!” Most people who know Pavement miss them, and any group that might sound somewhat-to-not-really like the band is just asking to be explored.
Copy Haho’s trashy melodies won’t put off fans with a taste for the sweet or those who look for a bit more substance in their indie rock. Joe Hearty has a voice like you or I, that is to say, he sings like a slacker reciting a speech in debate class. The points, while drawn out, are always there, like in “Bad Blood”, where he rolls out unnervingly slow lines like, “I’ve been feeling weak / I’ve been feeling cheap / Should be walking tall / Where I’m struggling / I should be conquering all.” The song then swiftly moves into an eerie, downtrodden toe-tapper - yes, such tracks exist - thanks to the alien-like synth of Richard Scott. But it’s not all slow-burning Dismemberment Plan-meets-Figurine type numbers. Opener “Pulling Push Ups” immediately springs to life with the lines, “This is big business / This is big bucks / So get serious or get fucked / It’s only a game show.” Backed by jangling guitars and throbbing bass, Hearty leads the listener into head-bobbing bliss. And a note to other bands: including a chorus about dancing will probably make your live shows exponentially better.
“This Retro Decade” is a bit TTNG and a whole lot Pavement, except pretend Nightmare of You’s Brandon Reilly fronted either band (while you’re at it, pretend Mr. Reilly is from England). Oddly-timed gang choruses and drums push the song’s tempo despite Hearty taking his time vocally. Regardless of what's happening around him, he never allows himself to become rushed. Hearty seems to address this ideology in grungy “Cutting Out The Bad,” when he says, “I have no time / But to keep on / Doing my best to act and function.” Hearty’s words are sometimes hard to decipher, but they are always thought-provoking. It’s his strange, deep sing-talk (along with genius-like placements of in-and-out guitar solos) that will keep this band on your mind for weeks at a time.
Recommended If You Like: Pavement, Shellac, struggle, This Town Needs Gun, massive overtaking
www.myspace.com/copyhaho
Record Label: Big Scary Monsters Records
Release Date: February, 2009
At a certain point one has to wonder, “When will Big Scary Monsters let me down?” It didn’t happen with This Town Needs Guns. It surely didn’t happen with Blakfish. And when the Bred for Skills & Magic EP dropped in my lap, well, you see where this is going. Either this Britain-based label is actually a figment of my imagination, or these guys are just honed into my musical lust-o-meter. Copy Haho is relatively new to those outside Scotland, but their sound wouldn’t sound out of place in 90’s Los Angeles: the “easy” comparison is to Pavement. While such an evaluation may cause extra scrutiny from the hipster elite, it also causes instant cases of “I gotta hear that!” Most people who know Pavement miss them, and any group that might sound somewhat-to-not-really like the band is just asking to be explored.
Copy Haho’s trashy melodies won’t put off fans with a taste for the sweet or those who look for a bit more substance in their indie rock. Joe Hearty has a voice like you or I, that is to say, he sings like a slacker reciting a speech in debate class. The points, while drawn out, are always there, like in “Bad Blood”, where he rolls out unnervingly slow lines like, “I’ve been feeling weak / I’ve been feeling cheap / Should be walking tall / Where I’m struggling / I should be conquering all.” The song then swiftly moves into an eerie, downtrodden toe-tapper - yes, such tracks exist - thanks to the alien-like synth of Richard Scott. But it’s not all slow-burning Dismemberment Plan-meets-Figurine type numbers. Opener “Pulling Push Ups” immediately springs to life with the lines, “This is big business / This is big bucks / So get serious or get fucked / It’s only a game show.” Backed by jangling guitars and throbbing bass, Hearty leads the listener into head-bobbing bliss. And a note to other bands: including a chorus about dancing will probably make your live shows exponentially better.
“This Retro Decade” is a bit TTNG and a whole lot Pavement, except pretend Nightmare of You’s Brandon Reilly fronted either band (while you’re at it, pretend Mr. Reilly is from England). Oddly-timed gang choruses and drums push the song’s tempo despite Hearty taking his time vocally. Regardless of what's happening around him, he never allows himself to become rushed. Hearty seems to address this ideology in grungy “Cutting Out The Bad,” when he says, “I have no time / But to keep on / Doing my best to act and function.” Hearty’s words are sometimes hard to decipher, but they are always thought-provoking. It’s his strange, deep sing-talk (along with genius-like placements of in-and-out guitar solos) that will keep this band on your mind for weeks at a time.
Recommended If You Like: Pavement, Shellac, struggle, This Town Needs Gun, massive overtaking
www.myspace.com/copyhaho