By Michael Carroll
The Trojan Torch
Plainwell HS
1st Place
Division 3, News Writing
Review
Cope is dirty, loud, and defiant. From the outset a wall of distortion and drumbeats hit you. The pressure never lets up through the record. The lyrics are at times delivered clearly, but full of nihilism, and at others are spat, bitter, and angry. Otherwise generic heavy rock scores are given character by singer Andy Hull’s voice.
People familiar with Manchester Orchestra can expect the album to feel like “Shake It Out” off Mean Everything to Nothing. Others should imagine something along the lines of a grunge band circa 1980s, or Brand New on The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me.
The best track would be “See It Again”. It is the champion for the sound in this album. You feel the bass, and hear the venom as Hull sings “And I’m never gonna see it again.” The worst, “Every Stone” which seems out of place with its comparatively stripped sound, and the lyrics are sub-par.
Cope has flaws: the songs can seem to run together, at times the distortion is scratchy and jarring, and the album isn’t much for casual listening. It is all it aspires to be, the album was touted as grungy, and it delivers.
The songs are loud and intense. The lyrics are terse and explosive. You’ll feel young, alive, and angry at the world—and happy about it.
8.5/10 Stars
Hope is everything that Cope isn’t. Where Cope is loud, and jarring, Hope is subtle and smooth. Chords accented with gentle strumming, piano taking the place of lead guitar, and Hull’s voice melodic and calming. The same lyrics in Cope that were so bitter are now full of exuberance, light, and love.
This album is similiar to work of artists like Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, Sea Wolf, or Hull’s side project Right Away, Great Captain!. Within Manchester Orchestra, it is as if the emotion of “Deer” from Simple Math and the sound of “I Can Feel a Hot One” from Everything to Nothing were blended, and extended into an album.
The worst song on this album would be “All That I Really Wanted”. It feels like the guitar is too harsh for the rest of the album, and the vocals still carry over the bitterness from Cope. The best song would be the final song of the album, “Cope”. “Cope” is the backbone, the spine of this album. It provides a connection to the real world, “Cope” is where the line between idealism and realism gets blurry, and it’s the perfect way to end the story.
Hope can be at times tedious; the songs feeling too slow, and too soft. The lack of any heavy bass early in the album can leave songs feeling too airy to truly resonate. However, Hope wouldn’t be what it is without these potential flaws . It is meant to be the end of the spectrum, something soft, clean, and beautiful. Hull’s performance assigns the airy quality, and piano accompanied by strings bare beautiful melodies to create the final product. Hope is meant to be a soothing balm. When you’re hurt, when you’re burnt out, or when the bitter, cynical world has torn you down it builds you up. Hope will make you feel hope, that things aren’t as bad as they seem and that they are getting better.
9/10 Stars
Cope and Hope are perfect opposites. Individually they both send a message, and they tell a story. Together though, they fill the gaps in each other. No one thing is ever all dark, and none ever all light. Cope and Hope together reflect this, and you get the whole story. Love and hate in equal parts, each one real and genuine.
Composite Rating 9.5/10 Stars