US album release quotes
A plethora of quotes from the reviews received on Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose's American release on Feb 26th 2004.
“…shapeshifts between the clawing pits of math-metal hell ('Promises, Promises'), a goth prom ('New Toys') and an ambient trip to outer space ('In Your Prime')…Loose continually festers with a blistering intensity and creativity that’s not for the closed-minded or faint of heart." (4 out of 5)
-- Annie Zaleski, Alternative Press, February 2004
"...one of the best new British bands of this young century…"
-- David Fricke, Rolling Stone, March 4, 2004
"Harried-sounding tenor voice? Check. Soaring melodies attacked by double-time beats and electronic noise? Check. Lyrics filled with malaise and recalcitrance? Check. Sure, half the bands in England wish they were Radiohead, but The Cooper Temple Clause comes closer than most on its second album ‘Kick Up The Fire, And Let the Flames Break Loose’ because it cherishes the disruptions as much as the anthems."
-- Jon Pareles, New York Times, January 11, 2004
"The Clause write entrancing songs, mixing drifty, ethereal parts with enough claustrophobic tension to keep them from sounding listless. And when the band chooses to rock, as on 'Promises, Promises', the result is a song packed with surging guitars and a volcanic chorus…But as much as they love skidding rhythms and crashing guitars, they're even fonder of engaging hooks—whether they’re floating like Pink Floyd ('Into My Arms') or careening like Nirvana ('Blind Pilots')". (5 out of 5 stars)
-- Jon Wiederhorn, Stuff, March 2004
"In an age of quick fixes and committee-approved alternative rock, this album fusing anger and intelligence is one to applaud and savor."
-- Jack Iles, URB, March 2004
"Best compared to the few quiet moments on Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR overlaid with Liam Gallagher-on-crank vocals, washes of keyboard trickery, walls of guitar work, and a last-joint-before-crashing headspace, theirs very well could be the most innovative rock ‘n’ roll album of the year."
-- Nevin Martell, Flaunt, February/March 2004
"…a fearless mishmash of electronica, raw-throated heavy metal, stylish free jazz, and freaky dance-rock…aggressive, fractured, and eccentric, but stitched together with a warm, infectious melodicism."
-- April Long, Nylon, February 2004
"Think Radiohead’s experimental sensibilities with the rock turned up and the wuss turned down."
-- FHM, March 2004
"Lyrically strong throughout every track, this band has a dynamic vision for concepts, achieving fully realized songswith nearly every attempt…Brilliant synth flourishesand intricate production give way to rabid dog guitars that crescendo with complete abandon." (8 out of 10)
-- Michael Cameron, Outburn, Spring 2004
"Moody elements of prog, trance and classical flit through the mix…recorded by an art rock band as accomplished and original as its name is mystifying. The Verve-like vocals and incendiary guitars are engulfed at times by a dream-crushing low-end straight out of early Pink Floyd or psychedelic Beatles."
-- Bill Murphy, Bass Guitar, February/March 2004
"One of the most enthusiastically received acts in England has landed on our shores, bringing with it an ecstatic sound that combines clamorous guitars, intense vocals, and experimental beats."
-- Andrew Stone, Gotham, February 2004
"It's a bit of jazz, electronica and that ever-cheeky British wit"
-- 7x7, February 2004
"This is the best British band you’ve never heard of. Experimental and subdued verses break out into outrageously catchy full-on rock choruses."
-- Erika Larson, Relevant, March/April 2004
"[The] soaring ’Blind Pilots’ is one of the prettiest love songs you’ll hear this year."
-- Amy Phillips, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 29, 2004
"The Cooper Temple Clause flirts with brilliance on its American debut…"
-- Eric Danton, Hartford Courant, February 26, 2004
"The Cooper Temple Clause’s sound encompasses the spectrum of its British contemporaries…These Reading lads have a style that acknowledges the psychedelia of Spiritualized and Super Furry Animals, Muse’s spastic riffs and electronic flourishes, Radiohead’s grim atmospherics and Liam Gallagher’s voice."
-- Chris DeVille, Columbus Dispatch, January 1, 2004
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