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Copernicus

No Borderline

Review by Gary Hill

There are definitely some parental advisories with some of this. In a lot of ways this is less consistent and a little weirder than some of the other Copernicus albums. When one considers the competition, that’s pretty telling.  As I’ve said before, Copernicus is very much a “you get it” or “you don’t” kind of artist. He’s more performance art than anything. When looking for an introductory album, this one probably isn’t the one that would come to mind. For those of us who get it, though, it’s well worth having.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Joe Meets Copernicus

Sound effects and other textural music provides the backdrop here. This is more performance art, than musical performance. It does gain some more rock insistence as the rhythm section builds later, but that is replaced by more spacey atmosphere beyond.

Break from the Senses

Psychedelic and electronic elements merge with a groove that has some funk. The bass really drives along on this thing.

The Voice
Playful electronic music serves as the opening. This has a real bouncy kind of circus music sound to it. There is definitely world music here.
The Optimist

Funky electronic music creates a sultry groove here. The saxophone that solos over this is particularly cool. There is definitely some jazz in the mix on this thing.

Nightwatch

The sounds of a storm start this and serve as the background as Copernicus begins delivering his lyrics. It’s almost a minute in before there’s any real “music.” Even then, it’s atmospheric. Not only that, but it still runs tentative with mostly just sound effects (just not storm sounds) serving as the backing here.

In Terms of Money II

There’s almost a classic rock vibe to the music on this one. It has sung vocals on the extended intro and is really quite a cool tune. The rhythm section keeps going as Copernicus delivers his lyrics. The sung vocals can also be heard sort of as accents. The jam that ensues later gets pretty intense. Surprisingly enough, the lyrical message hare is rather uplifting.

There Was No

Drums play a big part of this piece. Additionally there are some crazed jazz meets prog and other elements at work here. Parts of this feel a bit like Hawkwind at times. Mind you, that’s the weird side of Hawkwind.

You're Not There!

Weird electronic styled music is the background here. Guitar rises up later in the piece. It gets pretty noisy and chaotic later.

Blood II

Starting out quite sedate, this eventually builds out towards more rocking territory later. Beyond that some jazzy progressive rock takes over towards the end of the piece.

No Borderline

Weird electronic sound effects and other elements serve as the backdrop here. This is strange, but also very cool.

 

 
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