The Cooper Temple Clause blast cosmic miasma

Although The Cooper Temple Clause have been attracting some serious attention and adulation from the day zero, there’s always been some doubt, a tad-of-a-puzzle about their true potential. Young pretenders or genuine artisans? The band’s second album, a follow-up to ‘See This Through And Leave’ (2002) is not far off and tonight is the first opportunity to hear new songs. The evening turns out to be the mind-blowing dope!

Dunno what happened on the temporal interstate but extensive exposure to live work may have sharpened the songwriting chords and taught them few lessons how to keep their audience interested while meandering into improvisational and experimental parts of their compositions. Majority of tracks The Cooper Temple Clause play can hardly be designated as songs, due to the complex nature and arrangements that are not shy to embrace an array of styles at a kleptomaniac’s rate.

The vocabulary of TCTC is wide and ranges from the obvious rock roots to prog, it nears metal, flirts with electronica, popping before ‘exploding’. Sounds are awashed with cyber-din and bravely dip into noise-manufacture before wild excursions into hypnotic phrase-repetition, ballistic riffs and white-noise bridges, all of circular nature, always returning to the ‘theme’. With six of them onstage (guitarists are versatile enough to double on keyboards), they certainly can deliver a sonic punch.

The Ben Gautry led outfit also know how to drop a pop tune of extraordinary kind. So, if anyone thinks that this is just an album band with a localised (GB) appeal, should really see The Monkees’ movie ‘Head’ again. In the world that’s shifted its attention to rock with the likes of The Strokes, The Vines, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TCTC are simply its leftfielders. They are current Sonic Youth to… well, we have no equivalent to Nirvana, of a decade ago.

An unadorned stage is filled with such amount of lights their native town’s Reading Festival could run for a day, which is the extent of the band’s showbiz consideration. And, it’s the thing that’s always bothered me with them, recalling Ride’s live inactivity. But currently, having this colossal music to drop, the visual aspect may even be detrimental. Fashion-wise, they are boys in their more-or-less street-clothes that is rockingly cool; but, the hairdos, lads – whattsa up? Inspired by a style between the Muppets and Kajagoogoo?*

They perform the fans’ favourites – ‘Who Needs Enemies’, ‘Film Maker’, ‘Let’s Kill Music’, ‘Murder Song’, ‘Been Training Dogs’, ‘The Lake’ – with gusto whilst the new titles, ‘A.I.M.’, ‘Promises, Promises’, ‘New Toys’ (all three epic in proportion) and cyber-elegiac ‘Blind Pilot’ are received with due respect of a first encounter, eagerly but cautiously. ‘Panzer Attack’ simply blitzed us out with ravaged emo-systems.

A sterling performance receiving a rapturous reception. If TCTC are not careful, they might become as good as Jesus Jones* used to be!