PRETTY, PREDICTABLE POP
Posted November 24, 2008
By CCMmagazine,
Tooth & Nail Records suffered a major loss when rock staple Anberlin announced they were leaving for greener pastures. Leave it to the label to come right back with former Militia Group indie rock act Copeland.
Copeland brings plenty of momentum to Tooth & Nail, with increasing debuts on the Billboard Top 100 Chart with each successive release. You Are My Sunshine only continues that forward motion for the most part, with Aaron Marsh’s pleasant tenor mixed with Aaron Sprinkle’s production work.
“Should You Return” features the trademark layered harmonies of Marsh and places the vocalist front and center as the face of the band. The song comes off a bit dreamy, but Marsh soon finds his stride on “The Grey Man,” a simple, pretty melody that depends on his falsetto work.
Some songs blend together a bit too much here, with “Chin Up” and “The Day I Lost My Voice” being such casualties. It’s when drummer Jonathan Bucklew is let loose that the rest of the band shines brightest on Sunshine. “Good Morning Fire Eater” and “What Do I Know?” break up Sunshine from its consistent, piano-driven, laid-back tendencies with proper rock variance.
Copeland has a new home, but it’s clear the band’s sound is already well defined, and it’s not moving from it. You Are My Sunshine is a fine album, albeit nothing new. And it seems that pretty is good enough for these Florida boys. –Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today! View All Music And Book Reviews By CCMmagazine | View CCMmagazine's Profile
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