The Cooper Temple Clause, Koko London, October 2006
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The British music scene has been going through a rock revival over recent years, and while bands like Kasabian and The Killers take well deserved press, one band that has always been a favourite of mine is The Cooper Temple Clause. Despite two brilliant albums now, they still retain a somewhat underground following. I went to Koko in Camden to try to figure out exactly why this band aren't bigger than they are.

These five understated men strike me as a band who prefer to let their music do the talking, so fittingly they appeared on stage with no welcome message, just straight into "Filmmaker", instantly getting the audience in the mood for what followed to be a balls out performance. Their new tracks Homo Sapiens and Damage were well received, but it was their material from the Kick up the Fire album that kept the crowd, and from what I could see, the band themselves, happiest. Their stage presence appeared completely natural. The music is powerful and meaningful, and very, very strong.

They were simply thrashing it and just in case anyone was in doubt, they dropped the venue into complete silence for a minute when one of thier leads blew half way through a song. A moment of worry followed, wondering if the gig was to be cut short, but everyone saw the funny side and after a quick change over the crowd was back in rhythm as if it hadn't happened.

It was half way through one of their heavier tracks that I thought perhaps I had the answer to my question. The Cooper Temple Clause are not that heavy, but are probably just a bit too heavy and raw to be liked by everyone, and thank god for that. Their music isn't instantly likeable. It is subtle and takes some listening to to be fully appreciated. It's real rock the way it should be, it's a feeling more than a sound, and it's not filitered down for anyone. You don't become world famous making music like this, but you probably don't want to.

The Cooper Temple Clause have an elusiveness about them you don't often see these days. Yeah they've got a myspace page but that's about as mainstream as they get. You won't come across their videos whilst flicking Sky channels and you certainly won't catch them chatting to a T4 host after the Hollyoaks omnibus on a Sunday morning. The only way to experience TCTC is to watch them live, and believe me you'll be blown away.

Editorial : A Winter



visit www.thecoopertempleclause.com