The Crash Years - Cope (EP Review)

The Crash Years play music that leans heavily on piano. The music to me is best described as pop/alternative rock that is a little on the light rock side of things. The band's new EP Cope shows the band coming out strong with some really solid songs.

One question that is really important with releases like this is does the band capture the vibe correctly. Is it somber to an extent without being boring? Do the lyrics cause the listener to make an emotional connection to what the artist is trying to say? I think The Crash Years do a really good job of that on this EP. It's upbeat but sort of somber without being boring. The vocals are done extremely well and some might say the piano is the backbone of the EP. I can definitely hear that when I listen to it, but the vocals are also a large part of that backbone. I think the songs get a big boost from the way the guitars are used to create some nice mood shifts in the songs. Lyrically it's well done. The lyrics and the way they are performed do a good job of evoking the emotions that are found within the music.

This is definitely music that fans of Jack's Mannequin, Waking Ashland, The Rocket Summer, and Copeland could enjoy. I can also see this having a lot of broad appeal to more listners of alternative rock or radio rock. Some of these songs could be massive alternative radio hits. Just listen to a track like "The One" and tell me you couldn't play that song in a dramatic/romantic scene on a show like Grey's Anatomy. I can see people who really enjoy bands like Train and The Fray really getting into this as well.

Cope is a pretty solid offering from The Crash Years. I can definitely see myself listening to this throughout the year quite a bit. It's the perfect type of EP for these early months of 2014. Check it out. It's a worthwhile listen.

Cope Artwork