The Cooper Temple Clause – Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose Review

“If at first you don’t succeed, try again for me.”
The Cooper Temple Clause – “Talking To A Brick Wall”

Supposedly, The Cooper Temple Clause – who’s Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose was released on RCA Records on February 24 – have yet to learn how to properly play their instruments. In fact, this claim is repeated over and over in their press materials. Well, either this is a publicist’s clever attempt to under-hype the band as their sophomore album hits stores, or producer/engineer Dan Austin and/or Chris Blair and the folks at Abbey Road Studios responsible for mastering the CD are geniuses. Or perhaps it’s a little bit of both. Either way, Kick Up The Fire sounds great, doesn’t let up from track one ’til the end, and kicks your ass from all angles.

“The Same Mistakes” and “Promises, Promises” start things off with some rockin’ goodness, channeling the spirit of Sunny Day Real Estate at its least whiniest. But the album kicks into another gear with “New Toys,” as trippy keyboards and a techno-like rhythm carry Ben Gautrey’s sneering vocals through the first track where TCTC finally show off their… well, their new toys of course.

“Talking To A Brick Wall” is by far the album’s best song. It begins like something penned by late/post-Beatles-era George Harrison, singing “small things about you excite me but then I’d hate to spoil the tone.” Then that tone changes – for the better – as you get pulled into the heavier, driving chorus. The handclaps on two and four that guide the song to its end as it fades out are nothing; after hearing this track for the first time, I wanted to applaud my CD player.

Unfortunately, like so many albums these days, Kick Up The Fire loses some of its luster midway through. I don’t know what Gautrey is singing about on “Into My Arms” and don’t care, even though the final ¼ of the song is industrial, pounding and moderately interesting. You can’t fault them for changing things up a bit, and the fact that they’re so willing to play around with different sounds and styles is what made me dislike “Blind Pilots” for being nothing but a harmless, yet typical, garage-rock tune (sure, the lead singer went to the same Swiss school as The Strokes, but we have enough Strokes, thank you very much).

“A.I.M” – at track six – brings the album back in the right direction. Once the opening groove kicks in, make sure to pay attention, ’cause TCTC is about to take you on a ride. “Music Box” is playful and angry (although I wish he’d just scream his ass of Trent Reznor-like ’cause ya just know he wants to); “In Your Prime” is basically a short interlude, and by the time you get through “Written Apology,” you might just have to smoke a cigarette.

Matthew Michaels is one of the original editors of Pulse Wrestling, and was founding editor of Inside Fights and of Inside Pulse Music.