It is always said that you should never judge a book by its cover, but lets be honest we all do it, and sometimes music for me is no exception. Had it not been for this interesting looking box just leaping out amongst a veritable mountain of 7” singles, I may have let one of the brightest and most hotly tipped bands slip me by.

Now I’d heard the words Cooper Temple Clause whispered in record shops, uttered amongst gig goers, spoken about on tube trains, and positively hollowed on radio stations nationwide. It seems that the whole country is beginning to awaken to their sound, everyone is ready to grab, snatch and seize this, the ‘Next Big Thang!’

So there I was, faced with this… this box! - Just like Pandora I didn’t really know what to expect on the opening. To my surprise I hadn’t unleashed all the evil into the world, instead I was faced with two 7” singles… just staring back at me… tempting me to switch on to the world of ‘Cooper Temple Clause’

The Hardware E.P. is comprised of four tracks including what seems to be the now radio-friendly ‘The Devil Walks In The Sand’. A fresh and musically diverse track, opening with striking guitar riffs and a loud, powerful and equally driving sound, the track continues to build musically through each and every bar. The chorus is built around this superb and magnificently timed guitar sliding, which is complimented by a whole host of other sounds, all working to enhance the classic “indie” vocals. After a small change in direction through a lighter mid-section the song erupts back into life with the familiar guitar networking that leeches off into a gentle yet almost spaced out sound, fading into the distance. This is definitely an indie anthem in the making.

‘Solitude’ a heavy sounding instrumental track that shakes your soul and rumbles every bone in your body with its dark and turbulent bass sounds, and hard hitting drum beats. The pace and tempo of this song is upbeat and moderately fast throughout with a driving main riff and loud sounding drums.

‘Way Out West’ starts with western style back grounding, with not only the guitar sound reminding you of those opening scenes in a western, but the scratching, uneasiness of the record takes you straight into the world of say Dirty Harry. The eeriness of the background sound is complimented with some uneasy riffs, and off-key vocals. The later inclusion of string sounds heightens the atmosphere taking the song to a new level almost reaching breaking point. The end is just an explosion of sound, atmosphere and ambience blasting out of your speakers and penetrating straight through to the deepest darkest depths of your mind. Just breathe-taking.

‘Sister Soul’ opens with a gentle and almost melancholic sound tugging away at the listeners’ heartstrings. With lyrics about angels sung in a more angelic tone the song proves to be a real emotive heart jerker. This song exposes another face, another part of the large surface area that The Cooper Temple Clause seem to possess as a band. Still uneasy in some areas, the song just hits that nerve, definitely not a pick-me up track, more a track to listen to when the only thing you feel like doing is curling up and shutting out the world.

On reflection maybe I had released the unknown into my world, and like an addiction or some form of demonic possession was left literally gasping for more.