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"Groundbreaking bands typically don't function as stars hanging in the night sky for all to gaze upon. Rare talent functions more accurately like tectonic plates, mutating their surroundings deep underground by bulldozing the pre existing turf. These kinds of musicians who regenerate and evolve our world by forging new creative languages that future artists will liberally borrow from and build upon. Richmond, Virginia may seem like a surprising location for seismic catalysts, but Hard Copy now joins an elite list of RVA bands moving sound in unexpected and earth shaking directions. Destruction! Invention! Rebirth!
Once upon a time there was Honor Role who deconstructed midwest hardcore and carved out a path for what eventually would become mathrock. Combining empathy wrapped in anger, a following generation would use this template to birth post-hardcore and a 2nd wave emotional music. A bit later came Labradford who were atmospheric scientists creating pulsating soundscapes bathed in drone. Their music was so devastatingly unique that Kranky willed themselves into existence to release their debut for which this historic label was built upon and continues to lead the way in experimental music. I can't help but to include Hard Copy among this kind of revelatory innovation. They are subtle shapeshifters of synth driven post-punk. At their core, we find unorthodox art rock for which Talking Heads and Pere Ubu belong, but it is stretched taut like taffy into trance-inducing, long form motorik musings. Singular vocals act as a secondary percussion. Bass lines double as a metronome heartbeat. Guitars zigzag inside a monochromatic prism. Linnear drums hammer the band's abstract narrative into a carefully crafted double-helix staircase spiraling up into ambitious avant-garde territory. Cantankerous poetry minus the Mancunian snarl of Mark E Smith behaves as a modern day deadbeat descendant making good. In short, making very very good.
RIYL the kind of bands who have no interest in grabbing a spotlight and are more likely to kick out the bulb to avoid it completely." -Tracy Wilson (Courtesy Desk)
Our take: Feel It Records brings us the debut (I believe) from this Richmond, Virginia band. Rather than the hardcore punk most Sorry State readers probably associate with Richmond, Hard Copy plays arty post-punk. The official description for 12 Shots of Nature references the Fall, and I think that’s a good comparison as Hard Copy shares the Fall’s repetitive grooves, poetic lyrics, and way of fusing accessible and experimental sounds. Musique concrete-style pieces like “100,000 Negatives on Glass Plates” and “Slapstick” coexist next to Can-descended meditations like “Torpedo,” while “Caravaggio” and “Airlines” channel the Talking Heads’ skewed but approachable art-pop. Hard Copy’s sound coheres thanks to this slightly stoned-sounding nonchalance that carries through all the distinct sounds and styles Hard Copy undertakes on 12 Shots of Nature. Rather than trying to impress you or pull you in, Hard Copy makes you feel you’re eavesdropping on them as they make something up on the spot. I’m sure plenty of people will find that off-putting and pretentious, but those of us drawn to challenging music will get sucked right into Hard Copy’s world.
Once upon a time there was Honor Role who deconstructed midwest hardcore and carved out a path for what eventually would become mathrock. Combining empathy wrapped in anger, a following generation would use this template to birth post-hardcore and a 2nd wave emotional music. A bit later came Labradford who were atmospheric scientists creating pulsating soundscapes bathed in drone. Their music was so devastatingly unique that Kranky willed themselves into existence to release their debut for which this historic label was built upon and continues to lead the way in experimental music. I can't help but to include Hard Copy among this kind of revelatory innovation. They are subtle shapeshifters of synth driven post-punk. At their core, we find unorthodox art rock for which Talking Heads and Pere Ubu belong, but it is stretched taut like taffy into trance-inducing, long form motorik musings. Singular vocals act as a secondary percussion. Bass lines double as a metronome heartbeat. Guitars zigzag inside a monochromatic prism. Linnear drums hammer the band's abstract narrative into a carefully crafted double-helix staircase spiraling up into ambitious avant-garde territory. Cantankerous poetry minus the Mancunian snarl of Mark E Smith behaves as a modern day deadbeat descendant making good. In short, making very very good.
RIYL the kind of bands who have no interest in grabbing a spotlight and are more likely to kick out the bulb to avoid it completely." -Tracy Wilson (Courtesy Desk)
Our take: Feel It Records brings us the debut (I believe) from this Richmond, Virginia band. Rather than the hardcore punk most Sorry State readers probably associate with Richmond, Hard Copy plays arty post-punk. The official description for 12 Shots of Nature references the Fall, and I think that’s a good comparison as Hard Copy shares the Fall’s repetitive grooves, poetic lyrics, and way of fusing accessible and experimental sounds. Musique concrete-style pieces like “100,000 Negatives on Glass Plates” and “Slapstick” coexist next to Can-descended meditations like “Torpedo,” while “Caravaggio” and “Airlines” channel the Talking Heads’ skewed but approachable art-pop. Hard Copy’s sound coheres thanks to this slightly stoned-sounding nonchalance that carries through all the distinct sounds and styles Hard Copy undertakes on 12 Shots of Nature. Rather than trying to impress you or pull you in, Hard Copy makes you feel you’re eavesdropping on them as they make something up on the spot. I’m sure plenty of people will find that off-putting and pretentious, but those of us drawn to challenging music will get sucked right into Hard Copy’s world.