thread of copeland on occasion of their ghostly and fractured rock/r&b-ish(??) album blushing (2019)

oh yeah good call, especially with the ha-hoo-hooos.

feel like kev k would like this record

yes k3vin to thread

lol i forgot they were actually releasing this on valentine’s day. it’s out now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvo1Ytilgwg

lol i'm obsessed with this record and want other people to hear it!!! i think this is my new favorite copeland song. seems to reach back all the way to in motion by its end, seems to collapse every copeland record into one

valentines is a perfect day for this lol. colorless is exactly what i want a copeland song to sound like in 2019

I got Beneath Medicine Tree when it came out. I really loved it at the time. An old roommate of mine had In Motion which I was into but never stuck with them after that. Starting this one now and im digging it a lot. Excited to actually dive into this.

omg I love this album so much

i knew it!!!!

This is pretty cool ... not like in a formalistic sense but emotionally this reminds me a bit of ... suede?

the pre-released tracks sound even better in context.

im listening over and over for a skippable track and not finding any.

if you folded every aspect of my taste down the resulting origami would be this record

i get lost when you look my way
it's genuine

so this is a really challenging record, something I need to listen to in a setting more appropriate than in the car stuck on west street traffic

I haven’t read this whole thread yet, but I’m trying to figure out where I stand on the question of the r&bness of this record, because on the one hand I can see it in some moments — as with parts of “lay here” most obviously — but on the other hand this record’s aesthetic seems almost antithetical to r&b as I understand it: it’s so loose and, yes, fractured, almost closer to jazz.

that might be related in some way to this essential quality I can’t quite place but keeps me at arms length for the time being — while almost every song has something to it that really comes out of left field and impresses me, there’s this feeling of...amateurishness?...that strikes me, like its unfinished — every song seems like it’s a hook short of fully coming together. I also am trying to figure out how I feel about this guy’s voice, but my initial impression is not overwhelmingly positive

like I said though there is a lot here that intrigues me, and, also, truly seems challenging in a way I really wasn’t prepared for, and I’m thankful for this recommendation and will give it more time

I think I have more to say about tim’s characteristically insightful post about radiohead up there, but the random touchpoints rattling around in my head as I listened to this included like...portishead, bon iver, mark hollis, some amalgam of latter-day emo vocalists (manchester orchestra maybe?)

none of which really make sense on their own but all feel like ingredients in some way

I hear a faint echo of Earwig’s ‘Under My Skin I Am Laughing’ in that fractured, abstracted aspect to their sound.

Blown away that they’ve been going since 2001

I decided that this album is amazing

it is

just listened the album.
i'm overwhelmed. is 'suddenly' the best song ever or what?

Just listening to this and liking it. It took me ages to work out what it most reminded me of (and it may just be the burr on the guy's vocals) but it's the Notwist.

I thought of it too but it lacks The Notwist's restraint, which I personally can't do without.

this is great

kills 1975 imo

nice to have kev on board. i thought maybe the emo-ish vox might be a hurdle too high but glad you stuck with it.

didnt expect m@tt to like it either!

re to Nourry: suddenly is for sure my early favorite on here. back half of it is perfectly melancholy.

went from blushing to beneath medicine tree this morning which was v weird bc the songwriting on bmt is way less developed, a lot more obviously derivative ("testing the strong ones" is like what if texas is the reason and jimmy eat world were one band), in many ways it is obviously a debut, but they had also already established their relationship to atmosphere on it; it doesn't sound obviously distinct from other well-produced emo records of the early-'00s but there's this dreamy sleepwalking feeling throughout that makes it feel special and like it's probing a different emotional space than other emo records (which, it was: grief)

in line with this, my favorite copeland songs are the few that sound like they could be on any of their records, like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkI3iSozeVQ

(also "eat sleep repeat," "love affair")

totally see the in rainbows comparison on "as above, so below"

the vox get *a bit much* for me at times, but musically and melodically it's a very strong record

partially i just feel happy for brad because honestly it's like god reached into the stars shaped it into a record just for you

also lol I didn't know these guys were lifers that used to be on Tooth & Nail haha

there are some great bass lines on this album, i miss rock bands w/cool basslines

i've given this album a lot of listens now and i'm still not quite sure what to make of it. it's enjoyable for sure, and "night figures" and "suddenly" are certainly standouts, but as a whole it's been a bit difficult to get a grip on. i think its sound stretched across the length of a whole album has just ended up feeling a bit formless to me unfortunately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL3RYwhSIUE

favorite jam on the album

that video is excellent

i just wanna make you smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile.... onnn your worst day. I just wanna make you caaaaaaaaaaake... forrrrr your birthday *start weird drums and synths(?)*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COuhLiQtLN0
think this is my fav now on here. the back half >>>>

Had never heard of this band until this album. Didn't care for the vocals on first listen, but kept coming back for the atmosphere. Pretty sure this album is going to make my EoTY list now.

welcome, beard papa

im in for this

We’re hitting the road to celebrate 20 years of Beneath Medicine Tree. We’re bringing our buddy Kevin Garrett and the amazing girlhouse on select dates! Come sing along with us. Tickets are available at https://t.co/OTbEnqChmJ. pic.twitter.com/e32Atz0jxm

— copeland (@copelandband) February 2, 2023

umm also had no idea they put out a new record last year!

it's rerecordings/rearrangements of old songs and i just haven't gotten around to it myself lol

ok lol i was like what have i done how did i miss this