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Mike Copus

Mike Copus has written 36 posts for Sonic Dice

Album Review: Bellafea

By Mike Copus ⋅ November 7, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[Album: Cavalcade]
[Label: Southern]

Bellafea hail from a quiet town in the Bible belt region of America. The Deep South, and it’s seemingly permanent stereotypes of rednecks, racists and homophobes has been under society’s microscope more than ever, in the past year, given the hotly debated presidential election. Many people question the Southern states capability for open […]

EP Review: Loyal Trooper

By Mike Copus ⋅ November 5, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[EP: One Day All This Will Work Out]
[Label: Unsigned]

Whether it’s a cheeky pseudonym that was thought of in a brief moment or a testament to his hard work, Loyal Trooper is the recording name given to singer-songwriter Andy Walker’s music. Recorded amongst humble surroundings at the songwriter’s bedroom and a local church (as he says […]

Album Review: Abigail Hopkins

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 31, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[Album: The Memoirs of an Outlaw]
[Label: Possessed Records]

Looking at the album cover for the unheard of Abigail Hopkins’ first album is a pretty effective method of deciding whether this is going to be for you. Exuding an undeniably folksy charm with a hint of vagrant imagery about it, you could go one of two ways […]

Album Review: O’ Lovely Lie

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 27, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[Album: No In, No Out, No Echo]
[Label: Unsigned]

Nottingham’s O’ Lovely Lie are an ambitious band, having worked hard to record and self-release their first album all off their own back. The combination of siblings Gemma and Richard Upton add a varied mix to lead vocals, with each taking it in turn to hold presence at […]

Album Review: A Silent Film

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 16, 2008 ⋅ One comment

[Album: The City That Sleeps]
[Label: Xtra Mile ]

The first time I encountered Oxford’s A Silent Film was in the middle of nowhere, hungover as fuck and wishing I’d brought some wellies to the rain drenched 2000 Trees festival. Back then, with a swimmy head and a leathery tongue, they were just the right kind of […]

Album Review: Hollywood Undead

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 14, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

[Album: Swan Songs]
[Label: A&M Records]

There are certain warning signs that immediately start the panic siren in my head before I’ve even listened to an album. One of these is demonstrated wonderfully on Hollywood Undead’s album, “Swan Songs”. On the back, bold and brazen is a section dedicated to FBI anti-piracy warnings, threatening that “unauthorised copying […]

EP Review: Deaf Havana

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 6, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[EP: It’s Called the Easy Life]
[Label: A Wolf at Your Door Records]

Do boring places encourage the enthusiasm of interesting bands? It’s widely recognised that Muse was born in Devon, the place that everyone’s parents think it would be nice to retire to. Mclusky hailed from Wales which (from my sketchy memory of a rather depressing […]

Album Review: Ehnahre

By Mike Copus ⋅ October 5, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[Album: The Man Closing Up]
[Label: Shellshock]

For those who couldn’t quite get their heads around Kayo Dot’s ambient, offbeat passages on ‘Blue Lambency Downwards’ you may find solace in Ehnahre’s rougher, heavier sound. Consisting of ex-members of Kayo Dot, ‘The Man Closing Up’ is a grimly titled journey through erratic time signatures and a patchwork of […]

Gig Review: Pelican + Torche

By Mike Copus ⋅ September 23, 2008 ⋅ 12 comments

[Venue: The Underworld, Camden]
[Date: 19 September 2008]

I can’t believe this gig never sold out. Pelican, one of Hydra Head’s most mesmerizing exports playing alongside one of the most praised new bands to come out on the label, Torche. All this, and they’re playing inside the tiny Underworld, which uncannily resembles the basement level of Guitar […]

EP Review: Birdpen

By Mike Copus ⋅ September 22, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

[Album: Breaking Precedent]
[Label: Les Oreilles Bleues]

What’s immediately clear from the moment you press “play” is Birdpen’s obsessive fascination concerning birds, and other examples of Mother Nature’s offspring. Their press release reads as if David Attenborough has begun his own science fiction writing career - penning nonsense phrases at a rate faster than an over-excitable teenage […]

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