It’s been so long since The Copyrights put out an album that I kind of forgot they’re still active: seven years, according to the press release. But they’ve had a lot going on in that time (haven’t we all), dealing with personal and family issues and such. They returned last year with a big new record though, titled Alone In A Dome, and their first for punk powerhouse label Fat Wreck Chords.
The band is celebrating 20 years in 2022, and this is their seventh record overall. While that might suggest they sound like old timers who have worked out a formula, Alone In A Dome is far from phoning it in. This record takes their Midwest pop-punk foundation and builds on it. Sure, it’s full of those gang vocals they perfected back in the ‘00s, but every track on this 12-song record sounds just different enough that I don’t have throw out the obligatory Ramones reference. I’m gonna do it anyway, though: The Copyrights play what Ramonescore built. Take one part Ramones, but add another part Dillinger Four and then tastefully sneak in some skatepunk inspiration and it gets you closer to the end result: singalong punk with enough guitar and vocal tradeoff to keep it interesting song-after-song. The melodies are pretty, but it also has crunch and anger, and enough unpredictability to make it more than pogo music.
“Pretender” is on the poppy end and fits the style that people just discovering the group through Fat probably would expect, with clean Midwestern melodies and thoughtful lyrics. “No Dissertation” is the style I associate with the group, kind of a peppier Dear Landlord or a smoother Dopamines (and, yes, they share half their lineup with the former). “Before Midnight” falls right in between those two songs I just mentioned, and also emphasizes the band’s light/dark contrast in sound well. Fierce drums in “Enemies” up the urgency and heart rate and “Stuck In The Winter” is exactly what I’m feeling as Minneapolis creeps upwards toward 0 degrees (F) today. Oh, and the song has some pretty cool melodramatic bridges.
Maybe it’s because it’s been a few years since I’ve listened, or maybe because I never really studied their catalog, but this feels like a next step for the band. There is a little more variety and a really intriguing balance between happy melody and thoughtful, deeper material. It’s neither saccharine, nor dark. But it’s also not tongue-in-cheek. It’s just honest.
