Copy - Hard Dream

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 29 / 9 / 2010

Label: Audio Dregs
Format: CD

Terrific combination of pop and techno on third album from Copy, the moniker of Portland, Oregon-based musician and DJ, Marius Libman

Review

On the verge of both compositional pop music and eerie electronica, Copy's latest album 'Hard Copy' leans to both the left and and the right. The hard shoulder on the right paves the way for this hard hitting techno-house beat bonanza while to the left melody lines have been allowed to develop. The electronic harpsichord sounds on, for example, 'Breakfast' lead away from a blueprint rhythm pattern. Yet even more intricate is the dispersing line on 'Something'. Imagine funky handclappers moving about, standing next to cathedral keyboard players. Although from the onset 'Hard Dream' was never intended as extra pure DJ food, 'I Can Smell It' provides one of those rare essentials in a DJ diet. A big bad Italo-Munich disco beat at first, it progresses into making a perfect linkage between Devo's 'Mongoloid' and Daft Punk's 'Around the World'. Clubby mayhem on 'It Could Have Been More' takes 'Hard Dream' onto the next level. The electronic breaks enter darker territory now and it's like New Order has got lost in the woods and the prominent bassline on 'Blue Monday' has this time failed. The listener still has a notion though of where the sounds come from. The album closes off with a warning sign though; 'Stay Away From It' and you should indeed, unless you're fully prepared to take up this idiosyncratic dance beat ride. 'Hard Dream' takes you through old skool computer game noises and you won't even notice that a terrific dish is being prepared from it.