5/7 Stars
Manchester Orchestra, the first and main project of singer/songwriter Andy Hull, recently released Cope, their fourth full-length album. And while it has many of the integral aspects of Manchester Orchestra that I’ve come to know, love, and look for in Hull’s many bands, in many ways this album seems to be lacking something important.
Let’s start with some of the positives from this record. For one, it has Andy Hull’s self-aware yet metaphorically profound words sung in an eerie pitch above heavy guitars and crashing drums. This has come to be expected by MO fans, and Hull doesn’t let you down. The guitar riffs in particular grab one’s attention, getting you excited for the upcoming track, even if they eventually fade into repetition and lose their impact. Also, the many themes of these lyrics build upon recurring topics that always seem to come up in Andy’s lyrics: the struggles of being in touring bands, his marriage and family and his relationship with God. Moreover, the album has a sustained mood, which is often a compliment for a record. I get annoyed by bands that release an album of new material that sounds like a cut-and-pasted greatest hits album that doesn’t congeal. As you’ll hear, however, this unity actually becomes a negative aspect of the full record. Superficially, this is another good MO album.
However, then you listen all the way through the album without realizing that the songs have been changing. I’ve burned through the CD a half dozen times and still barely remember any song titles because nothing stunning sticks out about many of them. They might switch from a minor progression to major chords, or maybe they’ll toss in some pianos on a track or two, but each tune largely sounds the same. There just isn’t space or dynamics on this album that pull me into the soundscape. Instead, I just drift through the record, often not noticing the difference between verses, pre-choruses, or choruses, and that is not the Manchester I know. I want to be invested in the verses (and this does occur in Cope) before getting blown away by the massive, sing-a-long choruses that Hull has a penchant for composing. Sadly, this rarely happens. There might be much more to explore on the record, but I could not become invested in any tune enough that one track demanded my attention and investigation.
Furthermore, one of my favorite parts of a traditional Manchester Orchestra album is when they break down the heavy rockers and play a slow tune or something quiet with just Andy and a guitar. On the regular version of Cope, there isn’t a quiet moment that divides the listening experience, but song after song of hyped noise that fails to distinguish itself. The Deluxe Version, however, includes probably the best (because it is the most different and thus recognizable) song “After the Scripture,” which sounds like it would easily fit on one of Andy’s other projects, Right Away, Great Captain – indeed, this tune might be an unreleased remnant of that “completed” project. The reason this song is so good is because it goes from quiet verses with soft electric guitar strums to power chords in the chorus. This song has the dynamics that the Cope as a whole is lacking.
Overall, the album seems to be drawing upon early to mid-2000s pop-punk bands such as All Time Low or Taking Back Sunday. This might be intentional, as it recalls the mood of their first album, I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child, which was laden with the catchy choruses reminiscent of the pop-punk subgenre, but which sadly aren’t present on this record. It had the feel of something great, but seems to be lacking in substance.
In conclusion, Cope is not a bad record. If you’re a die-hard Andy Hull or Manchester Orchestra fan, a group which I proudly include myself among, you absolutely have to check out this Cope. Indeed, there are many similar vibes from the band’s previous record, Simple Math. Unlike that album, however, Cope doesn’t take you on a journey through its songs, but merely sits in the background like a Black Keys record. And perhaps that’s the records strength. Though I wouldn’t consider it growth for the band, they definitely tried something different, and I undoubtedly respect that.
