Album Review: COPE – Manchester Orchestra

Andy Hull decided he didn’t want to mess around anymore.

3 years after their third album Simple Math threw us for a loop with all of its experimentation and additional orchestration by an actual orchestra, the guys in the Atlanta, GA-based Manchester Orchestra decided to suck it up, strip it down, and get back to basics.

Which for them means “really loud”.

That’s COPE in a nutshell. It’s as brazen as the four-letter word that adorns its simple black-and-white cover, and as in your face. The guitars are as thick and layered as any rock album that’s come out recently. The drums are mixed to compliment those blatant front-and-center guitars, while also being a direct force of the overriding sound. The title of the record, COPE, is as much a thematic statement as it is a command directed at the audience. The title track interestingly placed at the end is not only the statement of purpose, but also a summary of their entire career. That’s a pretty amazing accomplishment.

This would mean next to nothing if the rest of the album didn’t stand up to what comes last, and good thing for me I don’t have to give you whiplash going from a glowing opening to a horrible review. This album is amazing, evoking strong memories of what many consider their best album, 2009’s Mean Everything to Nothing. It’s a no holds barred, breakneck rock record with a deceiving variety of sonic flavors that are sorely missing in the music scene.

A common misconception in music is that a loud dynamic equals a heavy dynamic. Many have called this a heavy album and indeed it brings to the table tracks that are undoubtedly some of the heaviest songs MO has ever done. The opener ‘Top Notch’ rips and stretches with a staccato drum beat and your first taste of those thick, sludgy, layered guitars. ‘Trees’ is one of their very best barnburners, a scalding riff centered around multiple soloing guitars and a pummeling drum fill. The title track evokes memories of some of the very first heavy metal music, archaic and chaotic in an epic album-closing way. But that doesn’t mean the album beats you over the head incessantly. ‘Every Stone’ is absolutely gorgeous, proof that you don’t need to be technical to be able to produce beauty with a guitar. The outro sings with a series of chord progressions that truly lift you – this isn’t a heavy song, this is a loud song, but a vibrantly beautiful one that frankly defies classification on the genre spectrum. ‘Indentions’ feels like a cut from their acclaimed debut record I’m Like A Virgin Losing a Child except written with all the deftness and economy they’ve learned as a band since then. The main riff blends with the drums and they both jump around on you with a prototypical time signature. Once the song reaches the bridge and Andy starts to vocalize with that surprisingly pristine voice, it’s clear that this album is not simply ‘heavy.’ There are moments of sheer beauty on this disc that the term ‘heavy’ just doesn’t allow for. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the harmonies – Andy Hull has always had a borderline preternatural ability to harmonize, and this album takes that talent to a whole new spectrum. You will be amazed at what they do with their vocals on this album.

Throughout their history, Manchester Orchestra has prided themselves on doing just what I have been describing – taking power chords and loud guitars and making something wholly unique, something that straddles the line between hard rock music and a very evocative sound that transcends any genre. I don’t think any heavy rock band would consider it a compliment if you said their music was beautiful, but that’s just what Manchester Orchestra has tried to do for most of the career. What I’ve been getting at here, and the amazing thing about COPE, is that it absolutely feels like a sum of everything they’ve done before. The proof lies in the claim that the ‘album is too heavy.’ To that I ask – did you actually truly listen to the album? Listening to this at face value might trick you into thinking it’s only one dynamic. You really need to peek under the hood to understand all the very interesting, very dynamic things going on in every moment of the music on this record, and to that I say Manchester Orchestra might finally have lived up to their namesake. With COPE they’ve composed something very ‘heavy’, yet very beautiful, and most importantly, something only they could’ve made.

It just so turns out, they didn’t need an actual orchestra at all. They were just fine left to their own devices.

Manchester Orchestra is playing at the Theatre of the Living Arts on South Street May 24th and 25th. Get there using SEPTA!