Thursday, February 09, 2006

Today's eMusic find: Copperdown, "Something True"



Although iTunes is great for what it does, my favorite online music service is eMusic. You're not going to find Mariah Carey, the Black-Eyed Peas, or the flavor of the month on there, but if you want great indepedent music, there's no better place to go nor better value to be found. Plus, eMusic trumps iTunes in that you get DRM-free high quality LAME-encoded mp3s which you can play on any portable device without worrying about compatibility issues. And the price is right: downloads are 22-25 cents per track compared with the 99 cents you see elsewhere. eMusic is a subscription model, so you'll have to spend at least $10/month, and you'll have to use your downloads every month or lose them. But I'm going to do my bit to help eMusic subs reading this blog from leaving downloads unused.

On to the album at hand. Although it appeared on cdbaby, I missed it there. So it was a pleasant surprise to find it on eMusic, here. It's catchy as hell, and a close cousin to today's CD of the Day, Supraluxe. It has a bit of a folk-rock feel to it as well. If you're an eMusic member, grab it. If you're not, they offer 50 free downloads if you sign up, and you can cancel before being charged if you find the site isn't for you.

Best place for samples is the cdbaby page; however, while composing the post, I listened to 30-second snippets from the album in its running order at eMusic, and it realy blended together in a cool fashion. I don't know if you can listen to the eMu samples without being a subscriber, but try this link anyway to do so. (If this doesn't work for nonsubscribers, please let me know in the comments so I can delete this reference).

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve,

Thanks for your kind words regarding our debut album; I'm glad you like it. I'm also glad you found it! - that's always encouraging. Feel free to write a review on eMusic or CD Baby if the mood should strike you.
Take care,
Scott
lead singer/guitarist
Copperdown

Anonymous said...

Once again, Steve's blog introduces a fresh discovery I might have otherwise missed... and that would be a pity, because this is a truly fine album. Innovative and retro all at once, great writing, world class arrangements and production, thoughtfully crafted, 5 stars.

In addition to influences already mentioned on their site, I hear a touch of post-Hejira Joni and a little Steely Dan now and then. And a little Byrds. But it's never too derivative and always tasty. "Falling Away" is a standout track.

Can't wait 'til my copy of this CD arrives. This album seems made with road trips in mind and I've got one planned for my favorite spot in the Sierra Nevada to break it in.

The eMu clips worked fine for me, without a subscription.

Anonymous said...

I have known these guys, off and on ;), for almost 25 years. My critique has been that they needed to feel. They do! This album is true and carried off by two guys strong in their craft. Skill for the talented; emotion for us sheep.

Anonymous said...

It's been a while (a long while), but a new Copperdown album will be out February, 2015.

Word,
Copperdown