08-12-2013

We came here to live

I've got a few reviews lined up that I kinda need to do BUT LET'S TALK THE COPYRIGHTS' FIRST ALBUM FOR A SECOND.

I came across the song You And I again a while ago via one of all those social media I use. It's a dang tune. So today, I decided to pull out my We Didn't Come Here To Die picture disc. Mine has former guitar player Ken printed on the B-side. Good decision. It's been ages since I've listened to this. I much easier grab North Sentinel Island or Make Sound to rock out to, but I shouldn't forget about this piece of '00s pop punk history.

We Didn't Come Here To Die is, if I'm not mistaken, the first official release by the Copyrights. You know how most bands need a couple albums to sound like "their band". Well, These guys don't. This record sounds as much like The Copyrights as their later efforts do. But this is more basic, certainly compared to North Sentinel Island.
I don't know when they wrote Our Turn (which was released on the Button Smasher EP), but they definitely hit the nail on the head with that one. "No more all downstrokes, no more I-IV-V's." We Didn't Come Here To Die adheres to the ramonescore tradition quite truthfully. Mutiny Pop and Make Sound started to stray away from that. But it's the use of harmonies, the balance of the instrumentarium, the build-ups, the potential energy that's been released throughout the record and the sense for incredibly catchy songwriting that makes this an all-out Copyrights records that is not just "their debut". It's part of the entire catalogue. It's a fitting element in their career.

With an array short, senseless, bursting songs about girls with glasses or people that talk too much and some elaborate, thoughtful tunes about exclusion and whatnot, the record lacks a bit of continuity that seems more present in later records. Of course North Sentinel island had a decisive theme and maybe even concept to it, but I feel like Make Sound or Learn The Hard Way for example have a very consistent sound and song sequence to them, without being fully conceptualized. That is less the case for We Didn't Come Here To Die. Notable fact, I think this record is the only one that has actual love songs/romantic songs on it, being You And I and -possibly- Four Eyes. With that in mind, for me the Copyrights have never been a traditional pop punk band. They've always tried out stuff, either musically or lyrically. Not going too experimental, but trying to stand out just enough.
We Didn't Come Here To Die is definitely not their best output. Some songs are plainly forgetable. Some are boring. Most are pretty good. Some are really good. But I feel like the record is as important in the Copyrights' discography as any other.

I got into the Copyrights around the time Learn The Hard Way was being released. So I basically backtracked to this record from knowing their newer material. I love every one of their records in a different way, but, like I said, they're a very consistent band so I think it's hard to pick a favourite and it's hard to say anything else than that I love the band as a whole.

So I just wanted to put We Didn't Come Here TO Die back into the spotlight for a bit. Seriously though. Very good record. Very good band.

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