See This Through And Leave - Cooper Temple Clause

...this opinion!

See This Through and Leave was released in February 2002, and, since then, nothing. However, they did play new material at the gig on Wednesday, so I'm guessing there should be another album out soon...fingers crossed!

The album features 11 tracks, and retails at £8.99 at Amazon - amazing value for 11 tracks, especially so because there is a bonus CD included - featuring bonus tracks and also videos.
..."Don't think coz you can't see me that I'm not watching..."

The first top-40 single released by TCTC, this song is loud and fast from the start. It's upbeat, both the tune and the lyrics are catchy, and it's great to sing along to.

PANZER ATTACK

"I'll spend the night here, cowered in the trash till 2am..."

In my opinion, one of the songs that TCTC perform best when live, ... more

Currently on a tour of the UK, The Cooper Temple Clause are a six-man band from Berkshire, who first made their name a couple of years ago. Alternative/indie is probably the best category for this album to be in, although the range of songs featured is incredibly eclectic, and a number of different styles feature on the album.

So why am I writing this op? Well, I saw them for the second time, playing at the Cambridge Junction earlier this week - so it's now a perfect time, I believe, to write this opinion!

See This Through and Leave was released in February 2002, and, since then, nothing. However, they did play new material at the gig on Wednesday, so I'm guessing there should be another album out soon...fingers crossed!

The album features 11 tracks, and retails at £8.99 at Amazon - amazing value for 11 tracks, especially so because there is a bonus CD included - featuring bonus tracks and also videos.

The track listing on the main CD is as follows:

01 Did You Miss Me?
02 Film-Maker
03 Panzer Attack
04 Who Needs Enemies?
05 Amber
06 Digital Observations
07 Let's Kill Music
08 555-4823
09 Been Training Dogs
10 The Lake
11 Murder Song

And now to give you a little taste of exactly what the band are like, it's time to go through the tracks one by one...

DID YOU MISS ME?

"How's it going kid? How's your lovelife? Not good? Good."

A track about the fact that the singer has a new love interest to rival his ex, this is a perfect way to start the album off. The song begins quietly with gentle "twinkling" music from TCTC's effects machine (do you know what I mean by twinkling?) and soft drums, then the lyrics come in, quiet and unobtrusive, to match the backing music. About halfway through the song, in typical TCTC style, the guitars become louder, the drum riffs heavier, and the whole song takes on a more uplifting beat. With the wailing lyrics, this is the REAL Cooper Temple Clause. My favourite song on the album.

FILM MAKER

"Don't think coz you can't see me that I'm not watching..."

The first top-40 single released by TCTC, this song is loud and fast from the start. It's upbeat, both the tune and the lyrics are catchy, and it's great to sing along to.

PANZER ATTACK

"I'll spend the night here, cowered in the trash till 2am..."

In my opinion, one of the songs that TCTC perform best when live, Panzer Attack is another loud angry rock song. I say rock: when the song starts, it actually seems more like a dance track with its catchy beat and weird and wonderful sound effects. However, as the track progresses, it becomes more rock-like, with shouted lyrics and a fast, rhythmic beat. Brilliant song.

WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

"But who needs enemies when you've got friends...?"

This song starts off mellow and jazzy, the jazz theme continuing the whole way through, but becoming a more upbeat later on. This is one of the best "singalong songs" on the album because of its speed and its backing music. The instrumentals on this track are amazing - and it's in so different a style to the majority of the album's other tracks.

AMBER

"blind as a bat for drink and easy laughs..."

As you can probably guess from the title and the line above, this song is about drinking and the effect it has on people. Another song that starts out mellow, with a crescendo towards the middle when the guitars and the drums really pick up. The whole song alternates between loud and quiet, an interesting combination of styles which really does work well.

DIGITAL OBSERVATIONS

"I thought I'd figured out the way to see the sunny side of the day..."

One of the longest tracks on the album at over 7 minutes, this track is comparatively mellow the whole way through, and I actually find it pretty depressing. The song doesn't follow the basic theme of the album, as most songs feature loud guitar riffs and heavy bass. To be honest, I'm not too keen.

LET'S KILL MUSIC

"We dare you to mean a single word you say..."

Another one of TCTC's singles, it's a relatively simple song to follow with not too many different lyrics, as it's basically the chorus repeated the whole way through. This is the Coopers at their best - it's an incredibly catchy song, and always gets the crowd going when they play it live. Beginning, as the majority of the tracks on this album do, with a sample from their effects machine, the track quickly builds up to its peak - a catchy number. And complaining about the amount of complete crap in the charts these days...too true!

555-4823

Hmmmmm. The low point of the album, in my opinion, and also in the opinions of many others. This is not a standard Cooper Temple Clause-style track. For a start, it has no lyrics whatsoever...unless you count shipping forecasts and snippets of Radio 4's evening news. A random selection of bizarre sound effects, Big Ben and the dodgy choice of "lyrics" means that this goes straight into my Room 101. Or should that bee "Room 555-4823"?

BEEN TRAINING DOGS

"Been training dogs again, to bite your little princess..."

A track much appreciated after the abysmal 555-4823! This rock/indie song with its lilting rhythm returns to the style of the early tracks in the album. It IS a bit depressing lyrics-wise, but hey, this has got to be expected from a band like TCTC!

THE LAKE

"Help me out, don't let me drown in here..."

Not quite as loud as a lot of the other tracks, The Lake starts slow and builds up a little, but not to such a great extent as tracks such as Panzer Attack. This track has a strange feel to it, like a cross between folk music and indie - it's highly bizarre. The perfect track to listen to when you're nursing a hangover the morning after the night before!

MURDER SONG

"Please believe me when I say this is how it has to end..."

As is probably obvious from the title, it's a song about death. Nice. But a strangely apt way to end the album! From the outset you can tell that this song is going to build up massively during its course - we first hear a solitary keyboard, then the drums gently come in, followed by a quiet guitar and then soft, serious vocals. But it's all about to change...get to about the middle of the song and the wailing lyrics come back, and the whole thing gets louder and heavier while still seeming very melancholy. Another great live track.

So there you have it. A great album from a band who are still relatively unknown, but have huge potential. Their live performances of the tracks on this album are amazing - you'll have to hear it to really know what I mean!

The only problem is classifying their music into a certain genre - this category on Ciao just doesn't do them justice. Indie, rock, alternative rock, jazz, folk and dance are just some of the styles of music their songs feature...eclectic is most definitely a word you could use to describe them!

If you want a sample of some of their other material, check out their website (www.coopertempleclause.com) and go to the "music" section. Trust me, you'll love 'em!

And the name of the band? Well, I don't know where it comes from - apparently there has been much speculation, but nobody has yet guessed the real origin...

Available from Amazon for £8.99 

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