Description
Label Review.
2020 album
Our Overview.
Julian Cope’s new album ‘Self Civil War’ heaves with unrest and the spirit of 2020. Pure Cope: compelling earworms of barbarian intelligence, crammed with songs that reach deep inside you, each possessed of its own micro-worldview, ‘Self Civil War’ showcases Cope’s songwriting at its most searching since ‘Jehovahkill’. Road-testing the zeitgeist with kitchen sink psycho-dramas like “A Dope on Drugs”, “Your Facebook, My Laptop” and “Billy”, ‘Self Civil War’ also showcases the insightful heroic ballads “Einstein”, “You Will Be Mist” and “The Great Raven”. In typical Cope style, the 13 songs of ‘Self Civil War’ brim with sound effects, enormous orchestral arrangements, timeless uprisings of Ur-folk and hefty near-Krautrock anthems.
It’s the first release in Cope’s ‘Our Troubled Times’ series, and he says it is “a fine temporary refuge from our daily bombardment by media luvvies and fuckhead world leaders who take us all for idiots.” Julian has now been carving his own unique brand of rock for 40 years now, starting with his band The Teardrop Explodes and further pop success on his own with the likes of “World Shut Your Mouth” and “Trampoline”. He quit major label acceptance in the 1990s and has since forged his own path with his label and website Head Heritage, releasing albums whenever he feels like it and pursuing his other passion as an antiquarian.
Tracklisting: That Ain’t No Way To Make A Million / A Cosmic Flash / You Will Be Mist / The Great Raven / Berlin Facelift / Immortal / Einstein / Billy / A Dope On Drugs / Your Facebook My Laptop / Requiemfor A Dead Horse / ‘Self Civil War’ / A Victory Dance