Say “Hello” to Chicago’s Coping. Their debut cassette, Lawndale, gives us an opportunity to try to salvage another genre from the dustbin of history. This week it is emo. Yes, before guyliner, straightened bangs, and Hot Topic, emo used to be a pretty potent musical genre. Mostly the domain of early to mid-20 somethings raised on punk, emo took elements from its punk rock roots and combined them with emerging indie rock stylings. Some of your favorite bands are emo, you know. Sunny Day Real Eastate? Emo. Jawbreaker? Emo. Cap’n Jazz? EEE-MO! Coping? You guessed it. Emo.

Lawndale rests on the Cap’n Jazz side of things. See, the three bands I listed all have pretty clear yet different sounds despite the emo tag. Sunny Day added the grandiose and technically proficiency to their punk, Jawbreaker the self-effacing, and Cap’n Jazz the shambling, rambling, all over the map-ness. Coping opt for the looser structures and sudden stops, plucking break downs, and time shifts that Cap’n Jazz made mildly famous. The fact that they do it with the same amount of energy is what makes Lawndale more than just refreshing throw back.

The music? Well, opener “Left Ear” is just that. It’s 1:50 of all build up and then it just stops. Following right on its heels is maybe the stand-out track “Croquet” which encompasses all of the above mentioned tactics in a tidy 2:51. Driving guitars give way to double time vocals from Tyler and Reese and, of course, some twists and turns along the way. “’95 Mariners” has perhaps the closest thing to beauty in its intro, but it too quickly turns into a bombastic run through loud/quiet guitars and desperate sounding vocals.

None of the six songs aim to raise above the template laid down. Sure, “Robert Pershing Wadlow” has a nice “Shut up/Shut up” break that stands out and closer “Seniors” has the most early Superchunk Mac-like vocals (an Influence I neglected to mention earlier but peeks through from time to time), but for the most part, Coping opt to just rock the fuck out. The cassette is plenty short, barely clocking in at fifteen minutes, so there’s no need to change the pace much, especially when the pace changes so much within each song. Perhaps on a full-length the Coping might want to add to their palette a bit.

But Lawndale is not that full length. It is a short and pleasant burst of energy that could bring the word emo back to its rightful home. What with the triumphant reunion of Cap’n Jazz behind us, it might be possible to reclaim the word proudly. If you’re feeling nostalgic or maybe you still really like punk rock played with crazy tempo changes, pick up Lawndale. And don’t fear the cassette. Lawndale may feel 1994, but it comes with a free digital download so it’s all 2010.
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Catch Coping on Wednesday, December 15, at the Fireside Bowl!
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Purchase or Stream Lawndale at Coping.bandcamp.com.