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Review Summary: Drab. Every time I try to start off this write-up, I find myself going back to politics and the, uh, choice words some Camp Cope members have for their ‘non-target audience’. I get it. You make music for people like you, and that’s totally cool! I respect the hell out of that. But the music you create needs to have something that draws the listener in. That makes them want to look for more than what's on the surface.
And this isn't how you go about it.
How To Socialise And Make Friends is an uninteresting foray into lo-fi indie. Although typically compared to an (arguably) fantastic indie Aussie artist Courtney Barnett, Camp Cope decided to suck out the over-the-top instrumentals, the tongue-and-cheek delivery, and the punchy production that Barnett plays with, leaving only a vocalist that soars over painfully drab, drawn out basic guitar lines and drum beats. Georgia McDonald is a surprisingly great vocalist; her range and vocal tone is relatively soothing and compliments the type of music Camp Cope want to portray, particularly on ‘The Opener’, but it feels ill-fitted at the same time. The soft production contrasted with her powerful delivery is incredibly jarring, particularly on songs like ‘The Face of God’. Speaking of jarring, the middle part of the album, stretching from ‘The Face of God’ to ‘UFO Lighter’, all follow the same path (excluding maybe ‘Sagan-Indian); slow guitar intro that builds into, well, nothing. This handful of samey-sounding, repetitive indie, mixed with a vocalist who struggles to match the tone of the music, equates to a listen devoid of fun, excitement, or anything good.
I don’t dislike this album for political reasons, disagreements, or anything of that ilk. I dislike this album because it’s trying too hard to be something it’s not; powerful, emotional indie. Instead of building around the voice of McDonald, it tunes out continually, dragging the muddy instrumentals down further into the ground. As a result, How to Socialise... is an uninteresting lofi-record which lacks both the punch and the substance to warrant any more than a passing glance.
1.6/5
Recommended Track: The Opener
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Album Rating: 1.5
I actually really don't mind 'The Opener' because it actually sounds like they give a shit.
The rest? Yeah no.
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Imagine getting so incensed over the "cis white men" comments like it's a personal insult doe
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This is a tremendously embarrassing shart into the universe and you should feel bad about yourself lmao
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
Oh.
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nice
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
We've now run the full gambit of opinions on this album. There is no inbetween and fencesitters like me will be executed
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
"And this opinion, seemingly, is difficult to hold; it’s just because I’m white. I don’t understand. I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman. Well, you’re right. I don’t. But I like to think I know good music."
wait i actually wrote this please delete me off this site
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I sure would if I could bud smh
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
Alright I changed it please kill me.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
haven't listened to this yet and yeah the singles were a bit drab compared to their last album, but i already can tell this is in no way a 1.5
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But did you see that Smash bros teaser for Switch?
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
There are some fair criticisms here, but you don’t actually engage with the album’s content beyond The Tweet.
If the music is that repetitive (a critique I totally understand), then you need to at least mention the lyrics too since that’s such a huge part of why the record’s got any buzz at all.
You can even say that any interesting moment of songwriting is drowned out by the instrumentation and I’d get that, but as this stands I feel like there’s not much depth or even purpose to this review.
| | | Album Rating: 1.0 | Sound Off
I wanted this review to take on the big issues - like why's the singer taking a dump through the sunroof? Doesn't even touch on that, neg
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"There are some fair criticisms here, but you don’t actually engage with the album’s content beyond The Tweet."
The way you capitalized that I thought there was an actual song called "The Tweet" lmao
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
I might give the middle-of-the-road perspective and fail miserably
But at the same time, do we really need another write-up for this?
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if you're not going to engage with the record's politics then don't bother
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
See, I disagree with the political aspect, since the ALBUM itself doesn't really have the posturing the band engages in through their social media. Yeah, "Opener" obviously makes a statement, but a lot of the album seemed to deal with love, relationships, and the like. Perhaps inside of that is a meaning or two regarding the beliefs of the group, but on the whole it didn't really strike that way.
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if you're not going to engage with the record's politics then don't bother
wut why
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@Mars: I see your point. It's worth asking then why every interview this cycle presents them as "fearless women blazing through the sexist music industry" and "feminist punk for the #MeToo era." It's opportunistic of them to adopt a political aesthetic then barely deliver any political songs. Can't just blame the publications here since Camp Cope clearly approve of that narrative.
@dimsim: well it's clearly important to the band that listeners engage with their political outlook. One of the reasons they don't want straight cis white men to review it is they believe they are inherently not capable of understanding these life experiences. I don't think it's okay to sweep the politics under the rug, *especially* for this band.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Yeah, and I agree, it's definitely a factor that can alter the perception of their output, or completely change its message. To me, the album never reached me on a political level, since 1) I never heard of/followed the band, so I was separated from their media presence, and 2) the music itself failed to be meaningful. Part of this is the decision to have a band in the first place; you get a strong, passionate vocal performance juxtaposed with backing instruments that might as well have been generated from a free computer program. While the singing may progress, the other involved members seemingly go nowhere. Song structures stay static, no dynamics are displayed, and there's simply no punch in the production. For a collective wanting to make a statement, it's a strange way to go about it, intentionally neutering your sonic output. Had this been acoustic only and with more energy, this could have been something.
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