Search - Heatmiser :: Cop and Speeder

The band grows more, the promise expands, riffs entangle

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 07/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The review by "Bluelight" expresses this album's appeal well. I first heard it after I had bought and liked "Mic City Sons." Driving home fter the funeral of a student I had taught, I put on "Cop" and it somehow worked for that moment. It mixes longing and frustration, and captures the ineffable restlessness of growing up, in Elliot Smith and Neil Gust's lyrics. Both make the band what it is, not just the more famous of the pair: intelligent but succinctly stated no-b.s. lyrics, simple riffing, and an ability to match more accessible textures to more assertive song structures revealing vulnerablity for the post-hardcore generation.



This album's sequenced so it gains speed as it progresses. For the first half, up until around song seven, it sounds much like its predecessor, "Dead Air." Respectable mid-90s, not that grungy, definitely capable, smart, punk-pop but more serious than many of its more lightheaded, addled peers. But this cd shows a jump in ability. It may be due to its new bassist, Sam Coombes (later half of Quasi). The lyrics open up, although they may not be what you listen to the first few times. As with much of the product by Smith, Gust (No. 2), and company, it doesn't grab you straight out the first time. But these musicians expect your patience.



Around the halfway point, almost subconsciously for the listener, the ambiance thickens and the rest of the ride's a wonderfully downhill rush. Listen to it and enjoy the slide."