THE COPYRIGHTS “Make Sound”
THE COPYRIGHTS (a favorite of pop-punk minded intellectual property lawyers everywhere) are another nail in the wall that’s holding together what’s left of the Lookout/Mint Records scene from the early 90s. Like their labelmates in THE METHADONES and TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET, the band is well-versed in all things SCREECHING WEASEL, THE QUEERS, and SQUIRTGUN, not to mention the overall influence of THE RAMONES.
Make Sound has a commendable balance of mid-tempo rockers and surging, speedy blasts. The fast stuff is fun as it allows THE COPYRIGHTS to seem a little less constructed and tied down to the weight of the band’s penchant big, sing-along friendly choruses. Songs like “The Company” and “Pentagrams,” even have an early BLINK 182 feel, minus that band’s nasal itch. The attraction to THE COPYRIGHTS though runs much more than music deep – the band’s lyrics are poetic odes to the carefree times of summer days and just goofing off, hanging out, and learning from simple experiences. “Planet Earth Nineteen Ninety-Four” amuses with the line, “Made excuses to not like Green Day / But we wore the tape out anyway,” while “Flat,” laments the complainers who put more effort in spreading their malaise instead of changing the subjects of their ire.
As thoughtful as the lyrics are, besides “Planet Nineteen Ninety-Four,” and perhaps the absurdly hooky “Caveat Emptor,” (you’ll be singing a slow-motion rendering of the words ‘I won’t get fooled again’ for days), More Sound is a little short on standout moments. Still, this release is pleasantly addictive and the Matt Allison and Neil Hennessy engineering is a perfect fit. For the sake of the band and headline writers everywhere, let’s hope that the THE COPYRIGHTS and Red Scare never get into a tussle over royalties. (I just can’t help myself). Otherwise, it’ll be a frostty relationship for the lives of authors, plus another seventy years. (D’oh, there I go again).
Red Scare
