Running with the Hurricane＜Neon Violet Vinyl＞

Australian indie rock trio Camp Cope were already walking the coals back in 2016, boldly working through themes of sexism, inequality, and personal heartache on their eponymous debut and its excellent 2018 follow-up, How to Socialise & Make Friends. Emotionally ahead of the curve, singer/guitarist Georgia Maq, bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, and drummer Sarah Thompson have seemingly already absorbed the additional tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging post-chaos with a newfound serenity on their third outing, Running with the Hurricane. Like so many groups whose careers were suddenly put on hold in 2020, Maq and her bandmates suddenly found time to stretch out both personally and creatively. Co-produced with Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, Cut Copy), Hurricane feels like a calm exhalation from a band who have metaphorically passed through a storm and learned a great deal in the process. Poignant and introspective, songs like "Caroline" and "The Screaming Planet" have a relaxed, lived-in feeling to them, addressing joys and struggles that, while still universal, seem closer to home. Maqs confessional songwriting style is still filtered through her love of 90s alt-rock, but in its casual intimacy, it also harkens back to the early-70s singer/songwriter movement. Her vocals, while still powerful, are less ragged and more soulful, as if shes finding new ways to express familiar feelings. As a rhythm battery, Hellmrich and Thompson shine with a loose, easy grace and Hellmrichs melodic bass lines in particular feel elevated in the way that a power trio can sometimes inspire. The overall downplaying of Camp Copes more emo tendencies plays like a natural occurrence as they age into this satisfying new phase. ~ Timothy Monger