Review Summary: Cope is 11 tracks of raw, sugar-free angst that makes for a heavy, heavy listening experiencing
If there is anything to have learned about Andy Hull from the past 10 years, it is that the man does whatever he wants, and does it well. Having dropped out of high school to write songs, Hull created Manchester Orchestra as the alias for his initial solo work, but soon became a band made up of his neighborhood youth group friends. Their debut LP, I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, enticed the indie/alternative music world with Hull’s divine gift of writing songs that tug on heartstrings, then eventually tear them out and obliterate them with raw and emotional lyricism and meticulously crafted musical compositions. The next few years included the creation of Hull’s side projects, Right Away, Great Captain! and Bad Books (with Kevin Devine), which opened up venues for Hull to work out acoustic and indie-pop songs freely. This liberation allowed Manchester Orchestra to slowly delve deeper into the hard-rock realm with their next few albums, which gave way to their 4th record, Cope. On this record, the instances of rock that have always been in the mix don’t make up just the bulk of Cope, but its entirety. And if you’ve ever seen the band perform live, then Cope comes as no surprise (if you haven’t, this record comes as close as it gets).
What hasn’t changed with this record is the brevity in Hull’s songwriting and the band’s intentions to fit the lyrical tone to an appropriate musical canvas; with bitter and unapologetic lyrics come bitter and unapologetic music. The album finds a general lyrical theme – if not a fully-loaded concept – in a testimonial of a man in the midst of a stagnant and failing marriage. With this comes a tone of callousness and futility that can only evoke loud music; it would be misleading to call the music angry, however, since the chord progressions actually contain more major chords than ever before. Standout track “Girl Harbor” acts as a good example of this as the album’s voice sings to upbeat guitars a sad, yet straightforward dirge about dissatisfaction with his wife: “so now your last name is mine and I feel no different.” This feeling of futility comes again in the single “Every Stone”, which sings about someone who can never maintain a relationship, with a potential play on words with a stone thrown meaning either a biblical reference of throwing a stone of judgment, or a marriage proposal: “You might just have missed the mark if you're keeping everyone away … Every stone I’ve thrown has gone away.” Musically speaking, “Every Stone” takes a slightly different direction than any other song on the record – which wouldn’t have been out of place on Mean Everything To Nothing – creating a breathtaking aura that works brilliantly as a refreshing mid-point of the record. While Cope contains many memorable melodies and choruses, this is the song that remains in my head after each listen through the record. Following "Every Stone" comes the heavier and darker second half of Cope, which culminates in the album-closing title track, that is, without a doubt, the darkest and most brooding song the band has ever released. With a guitar riff that sounds like a demon-possessed “Iron Man”, the lyrical themes of this struggling relationship find their ultimatum in these bitter and hopeless lyrics:
"I want to watch it all fall until it's dark
You both look exactly the same at night
I'd arrange the bed like crosses watched ‘em fall into the floor
It made me stop and forget what we were fighting for
It's like everything that I ever have imagined is coming true today”
As the ultimatum of the album’s thematic lyrical movement, the broken and disbanded love finally collapses, and fittingly, Manchester Orchestra has never before sounded so metal. What Cope does so well is what Manchester Orchestra has always found success in; the songs are templates for Hull to tell stories that are always gripping and heart-wrenching. Cope is 11 tracks of raw, sugar-free angst that makes for a heavy, heavy listening experiencing.
Where this album falls flat, however, is in its lack of variety. But even that was something that was very intentional, as the band made it very clear this album was meant to be “crazy loud” with no time to waste. The songs are loud, driving, and fast (the longest song being just over four minutes), and there are no ballads on this record, which results in an album that is truly unlike anything the band has done in the past. In a way, Cope feels like a debut album – one that you hear and see a lot of potential for the future – the only problem is that the complexity, beauty, and diversity of Manchester Orchestra’s first three albums have already happened. Only time will tell if this album is the first step in a new direction, or just a fun and furious step to the side.
Top Tracks:
Every Stone
Cope
Girl Harbor
