Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose

By combining elements of metal, pop, jazz, and electronica, the Cooper Temple Clause create a broad album that is subtle and meticulous as well as driving and bombastic. Songs like "The Same Mistakes" have a distinctly post-Radiohead sheen — spare, experimental arrangements, hazy, emotional vocals, and live drums that mirror programmed beats. But in other moments — "Promises, Promises," for example — the band unleashes sinewy and abrasive all-out rock & roll that references everything from Primal Scream electro-garage rants to slippery Faith No More hard rock and the grandiosity of Oasis. There are pure rock numbers too, like "New Toys," which could have made a mark in the '80s alongside the Cure and INXS. "Into My Arms," though, is atmospheric and spacy, then explodes into an industrial clamor. "Blind Pilots" combines bittersweet pop and thrash in a single song — like the Smiths or Blur crashing headlong into Nirvana. There are so many styles side by side on Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose, but the great thing about the record is that the Cooper Temple Clause make it all work, and it may not be the most noticeable album, but it's a pretty darn good one.