Twenty twelve, I\u2019m a like you already. It\u2019s only January 6 and the first contender for this December\u2019s \u201cBest of\u201d list has arrived.<\/p>\n
Stephie Coplan & The Pedestrians play whip-smart, subversively witty piano-based power pop that has already drawn apt comparisons with Ben Folds, as well as high praise from Fountains Of Wayne (\u201cimmensely talented\u201d). The most remarkable aspect of this remarkable debut, though, is the way that singer-songwriter Coplan repeatedly creates an entire world within the space of a few lines. By the time each memorable chorus arrives, you\u2019re already invested in these characters and their fates. <\/p>\n
Opener \u201cJERK!\u201d finds Coplan channeling that iconic Chrissie Hynde sneer as she narrates a heavy, hard-edged take on a highly recognizable relationship archetype\u2014the smart girl who knows better, but just can\u2019t seem to quit the bad boy.\u00a0 The pulsating chorus builds to this fine lyrical hook: \u201cYou\u2019re the jerk who keeps turnin\u2019 me on.\u201d Equally impressive is the density of sound this trio\u2014Coplan on piano, synths and vocals, John F. Hebert on bass and Shane Considine on drums\u2014are capable of generating on a powerhouse number like this. <\/p>\n
\u201cTake Me Back To The Suburbs\u201d is Fountains Of Wayne and Liz Phair conspiring to rewrite \u201cRockin\u2019 The Suburbs\u201d into a spoiled mallrat\u2019s rant\u2014devastatingly on-target, incredibly catchy and at times laugh-out-loud funny. (Just one example: \u201cWhere I’m from, when you’re mad at someone you don’t use knives \/ You just hack their Twitter and ruin their lives.\u201d)<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline\u201d feels like a lost Folds number with its rolling piano melody, well-arranged vocals, and witty storyline about a small-town girl who wants desperately to rebel even if she isn\u2019t too clear about why. The highlight, though, is the bridge, where the song breaks down to just Coplan and her piano and achieves a moment of genuine pathos for a character whose choices haven\u2019t inspired much sympathy up until then. It\u2019s never easy to dance the tightrope between snark and sweetness, but Coplan seems to have mastered it already.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake You Mine\u201d finds Coplan inhabiting a fresh guise, a sort of lost hipster girl gently stalking a guy who\u2019s just not that into her. The bridge again takes a welcome left turn, transplanting metaphysical insight into an otherwise earth-bound narrative. And then closer \u201cWe Don\u2019t Need Much\u201d comes along to deliver the gentlest, prettiest anti-materialist screed you\u2019ll ever hear (\u201cBecause if I have your love \/ Then stuff is only stuff\u201d).<\/p>\n
Applying a short-story writer\u2019s narrative skills to piano-based power pop, Coplan creates a series of songs that entertain with edge, disarm with earnestness, and ultimately stick in your head like half-eaten cotton candy. Available January 21 from stephiecoplan.com<\/a> (and available for pre-order right now at stephiecoplan.bandcamp.com<\/a>), Stephie Coplan & The Pedestrians<\/i> is the perfect antidote to dumbed-down modern pop, an eighteen-minute appetizer that leaves you hungry for more from this phenomenal young talent. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[8780],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-42510","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stephie-coplan-the-pedestrians","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42510"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42510"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}