Search - Copeland :: Beneath Medicine Tree

Beneath Medecine Tree touched listeners at a emotional level

R. Polei | San Luis Obispo, CA | 11/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While most bands touch on break ups, parties, and scoring big with someone, it is nice to see a band take a break from the norm and branch out with something individual and personal. Copeland, based out of Florida, succeeds in doing this on their latest release, Beneath Medicine Tree. The subject matter of the CD deals with the pain of losing loved ones, and personal feeling felt when someone close to you is not in good condition.
Beneath Medicine Tree has two different stories behind the songs on the album. Lead singer Aaron Marsh has dealt with a lot of pain in his life. Towards the beginning of the writing for the album, his grandmother became sick. He was very close to his grandmother, and spent a lot of time in the hospital taking care of her. She died after some time in the hospital. He wrote and performed the song "Priceless" for her funeral, and the song was included in the album. At the same time though as his grandmother had passed away, his girlfriend had been diagnosed with Lupus, a immune system disease in which the body attacks healthy tissue. She was in and out of the hosptal a lot, and ended up in a hospital in California to get Kemo Therapy. The nature of the disease caused a lot of stress on her, and the long distance relationship between her and Aaron tore them apart. So the CD subject matter touches a lot on dealing with a sick or dying loved one.
Though it would seem that the subject matter would put a depressing tone to the CD, Copeland is able to portray these subjects in a optimistic tone. The album opens up with an acoustic/piano song, and the album continues with progressively upbeat songs. The album starts out with the hurtful songs, and progresses to the more hopeful songs towards the end. The vocals on the CD are amazing, especially when Aaron hits falsetto notes in key moments on the song. The tracks are charged with emotion and energy, that surge from the listeners stereo system right into their hearts. You can feel the passion from the band in each and every song, and find yourself vicariously experiencing Aaron's pain and loss through the album, while also reflecting with him on past memories. The band is composed of Christians, and Aaron's faith as well as the bands comes out through the lyrics in some of the songs.
The songs are catchy and seem to never get old, no matter how many times you listen to the album. I so far have spent hours with the album, and have not found a flaw or discrepancy with it. I enjoy it thoroughly, and find myself listening to it on any occasion, whether it is taking me to school in the morning, or putting me to sleep. Another notable feature of the CD is the artwork and design in the CD booklet. The pages contain well photographed pictures from the inside of a hospital, and are divided by opaque sheets of paper with artwork of different anatomical situations of injuries. The artwork and layout design of the CD set the stage for the album, and help the listener set themselves for the mood of the album.
While Copeland could be defined as rock, they are definitely a lighter side of rock, with their melodically slow songs, beautifully crafted guitar work, and passionate vocals. The CD can be enjoyed by almost anyone, and is a perfect one to listen to when you need to unwind and relax. The songs can be interpreted to relate to many different situations, and I believe that listeners will be drawn and stuck to this band after checking them out."

Priceless

Nathan Knapp_Voronwë | 07/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If there was a sixth star able to be given I would give this album a seventh its that good. The lead singer has an incredible voice, using the power of his falsetto to invoke such strong emotions throughout the CD's perfectly mixed set. From beginning to end this album is perfect; each song a classic in its own right. These men seem to understand the correct relationship between a man and woman, based and rooted in caring and a respectful love that puts the other first. The songs build a build as the music is played, not climaxing half-way through the song and then leaving you to wonder what the rest of the song is for. The melodies are soothing, you can hardly help feeling happy after hearing the whole album from beginning to end. The band adds spectacular hamonies and background vocals; this whole band is talented in a way I have not heard since my other favorite band Jimmy Eat World. In short, Copeland rocks, and I cannot wait to see them live and for them to come out with another album. Buy this CD, it will change your life"

What More Can Be Said? (I'm not a kid by the way!)

R. Polei | 01/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, what more can be said than what these other reviews have explained already. All I can say is believe the hype that everyone puts forth for them. This band, you can tell, definatly knows what they are doing as far as writing songs goes. You can tell that when they set out to get a certain sound for a song, they execute. They aren't like many of the other bands nowadays where they just get lucky while messing around with your basic power chords. That is another thing that sets these guys apart, they all actually have talent. Copeland has extremely sad and heartfelt lyrics and you can't help but to feel sad right along with them. They aren't like most of the bands that you hear on the radio, they show emotion and are so good at executing it that there must be something wrong with you if you don't want to shed a tear during "Priceless" or you don't get the chorus for "Walking Downtown" stuck in your head for hours after listening to it. I only wish that more of this kind of music was played on the radio. Then 3 Days Grace wouldn't be on the radio, Simple Plan would not sell 4 million records, and we wouldn't have to hear about Ashlee Simpson's acid reflux disease. This is an example of making music from the heart, not so you can get radio airplay. And now, on to my drawn out song by song review of this CD:



1)Brightest- OK, how many bands actually start out with a piano ballad for their first song on their debut album? Not many. This band does, and it sounds awesome. 5/5



2)Testing the Strong Ones- At first listen, this one seemed sub-par to me next to all of the other songs on the CD. But this one is very good after about the third time you've heard it. 4/5



3)Priceless- Wow! Is all that I have to say about this one. I do believe that this song was written about when Marsh's girlfriend became sick with a disease and then she later died from it. This seems kind of like a bunch of memories that he has of her starting from when they were in love, to when she was in the hospital, to present day when they became seperated. A definite tear jerker. 5/5



4)Take Care- Great beat to start off the song with and an equally great chorus. 5/5



5)When Paula Sparks- Another song that took some getting used to, but now I absolutely love it. 5/5



6)California- I love the way that "When Paula Sparks" so smoothly changes in to this song. This is yet another absolutely beautiful song on this CD. It's about being far away from one of your loved ones and wishing that they would come back. I love how in the middle of the song when you think it's going to be a soft song the whole time, all of a sudden the drums come in and so do the distorted guitars. This song will blow your mind. My favorite by far. 5/5



7) She Changes Your Mind- Very good, only it seems worse than it really is being right next to California. 4/5



8)There Cannot Be A Close Second- Catchy as hell is all that I have to say about this one, from the intro to the final note, this song will have you bobbing your head like crazy. 5/5



9)Coffee- Seems like a kind of chilled out- laid back song, but it's extremely good and the chorus is original, you'll have to hear it to know what I mean. 5/5



10)Walking Downtown- Ahhh, yet another catchy one, like I said, it is IMPOSSIBLE to not have this song stuck in your head after listening to it. 5/5



11)When Finally Set Free- Nice way to close this beautiful CD up, it seems like it is going to be an instrumental, but about half way through he starts singing and it makes the song that much better. 5/5



So, overall this CD gets a 53/55 total rating.

I dare you to find me a CD that gets a better rating than that!"