Cooper Temple Clause

The Cooper Temple Clause, a six-piece touted as yet another "next big thing" from the U.K., may actually live up to the hype. Their second full-length, Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose, is the first to be released domestically, just in time for a reprieve from the rehashed Coldplay-centric sounds that have taken over Britain since the success of that particular group.

Unlike their countrymen, the Coopers are not afraid to rock out. Nor do they shy away from showing emotion. On Kick Up, they control chaos through the wonderfully dated circa 1986 Metallica-like heavy throbs of "Promises Promises," which drops into poignant love songs like the distraught 1998 Spiritualized-esque "Into My Arms," while on "Talking to a Brick Wall" they incorporate both ends of the spectrum into one number, going from acoustic plucks and begging croons to a crunching grind and desperate howls. As jerkily schizophrenic as this may sound, it actually comes off as completely genius. The balance the band hits is just right, giving you a dose of hard rock to charge you up and a soothing antidote to calm you down just as the power chords become too strong to take.