CD Review

For a six-piece band that confidently concurs they can’t play their instruments properly, The Cooper Temple Clause make up for their technical deficiencies with contrasting vivid imagination. Combining sci-fi themes with brainy prog rock, these Brits release their highly anticipated American debut album, Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose.

Four months in the studio help craft this Mars Volta meets Coldplay effort for a band whose name sounds like the next Indian Jones flick – only this time Harrison Ford isn’t around to rescue this spacey effort. The Cooper Temple Clause plays with eccentric emotion that makes the groovy assault of “Promises, Promises” and the earnest “New Toys” ring with euphoric harmony, providing the first half of the album a sense of urgency. Lead singer Ben Gaultrey lends a corrosive voice that remarkably shows glamour and pain, but the rest of the band almost tries too hard keeping up with him or perhaps its the other way around, as the band appears confused with their strengths and selling points. As Kick Up The Fire, draws to the second half, the sound slowly gets bogged down in a stale pulse, making this release a hot one way vs. round trip ticket. Great band here nonetheless, but The Cooper Temple Clause is best taken in small doses.