Review Summary: A purifying and powerful album that makes no excuses for itself
Easily the band’s heaviest album to date, “Cope” takes the bellicose sound that cropped up occasionally on older releases and lets it take center stage. The band is unapologetic about the shift, stating in an interview that the album is meant to be “just brutal and pounding you over the head every track.”
Opening with an aggressive, distorted guitar riff, it’s clear from moment one that Manchester Orchestra meant what it said: The album is unrelenting, continuing this trend all the way through. Track after track, lead guitarist Robert McDowell plows forward with consistently assertive guitar riffs, and there isn’t a dull moment for the entire 38-minute release.
Second only to the earth-shattering guitar work, lead singer Andy Hull’s vocals are crucial in conveying the urgency and frustration found throughout the album, cohesively flitting over, under, and in between the poignant walls of sound. The few moments when McDowell’s guttural guitar isn’t demanding the listener’s attention, Hull’s gripping wails ensure ears don’t wander. However, this strategy is double edged, and some listeners may be put off by the lack of breathing room on the album. Whereas past records fluctuated between truculence and calm, every song on “Cope” will kick your butt.
Lyrically, the band focuses on the idea that life can unfold in ways we can’t control and, consequentially, how our only redress is the way we cope. In that vein, much of the album is cathartic, a means for the band members to confront their own issues. Catchy “Girl Harbor” deals with a struggling marriage, and the heartbreak is tangible as Hull croons: “I don’t want to believe, but I want to believe you / I don’t mean what I say, but I say what I need to.”
In contrast to the marriage described in “Girl Harbor,” where the people involved say what they have to and not what they mean to, “Cope” is uncompromising for its entirety. Nothing panders, neither the lyrics nor the instruments. Manchester Orchestra crafted an album that isn’t meant to placate the opinions of the mainstream population or the critics. They created an album for themselves because they needed to.
This genuineness means the album has imperfections. The singular message leads to the album bleeding together in places and can make multiple play-throughs feel tedious. That may be off-putting for some, but for those who just want a dose of raw emotion in a phenomenally produced indie rock package need to pick this album up.
The verdict: Aggressive, visceral, and occasionally repetitive indie rock. Take it or leave it.
3.9/5
