CD Review: Kopek - White Collar Lies

Written by Petra Whiteley Friday, 01 June 2012 09:44

Artist: Kopek
Title: White Collar Lies
Genre: Alternative/ Hard Rock
Release Date: 25th May 2012
Label: Another Century

Album Review

Though ‘White Collar Lies’ is KOPEK’s debut album, released in USA two years ago and now unleashed in Europe, the Irish band was founded in 2002 already. They’ve toured extensively, bagged Global Battle of the Bands win and honed their music. This release kicks off with ‘Love Is Dead’, which has a great beat, very enjoyable song. The “throw away” proclamations seem minimalistic, but really it’s a cornerstone of this song making it more than super-catchy and memorable with its hook. Great opener for their mixture of modern rock with references to a more classic era, some grungy edges as well, seemingly weirdly at times, even a bit of funk vibe. ‘The Easy Way (D.B. Cooper)’ is pretty much great in its expressive angst.

Their best asset is Jordan’s gritty and raspy vocal that can even get ‘clean’ when it reaches into higher register. The songs have been assembled in a way that shows great diversity in their song-writing arsenal. ‘Sub Human’ takes on the corruption of the world, which is the strongest lyrical theme running through the album, it’s a slower, quieter number but no less intense or passionate. KOPEK really stands out from the standard fare of the genre, as they don’t jump onto the formulaic approach but they’ve created a diverse and interesting album, without necessarily alienating themselves either from the mainstream or alternative scene. They’re accessible without compromise of substance. Great stuff!


Tracklist

01. Love Is Dead (4:05)
02. The Easy Way (D.B. Cooper) (3:05)
03. Cocaine Chest Pains (3:37)
04. Fever (3:50)
05. White Collar Lies(4:46)
06. Running Scared (3:44)
07. Love Sick Blues (3:22)
08. Sub Human(3:39)
09. Bring It On Home (3:11)
10. Floridian (4:25)
11. Bigger Than Us All (3:59)
12. Sin City (4:17)


Line-up

Daniel Jordan – Vocals, Guitar
Brad Kinsella – Bass
Eoin Ryan – Drums


Websites

www.kopekofficial.com / www.myspace.com/kopek


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10