Copeland
You Are My Sunshine

Campus Correspondent Review By Trevor Starnes,
Samford University

Two years since releasing its first major label record, Eat, Sleep, Repeat (Columbia), Copeland has since left Columbia claiming independence. The players have since released an independent B-sides collection Dressed Up and In Line and now You Are My Sunshine (Tooth & Nail). The Florida based quartet, lead by singer-songwriter Aaron Marsh, helps bring Copeland back to their independent roots. Marsh’s smooth, ominous and unique vocals add to the band’s impressive uses of instruments to produce a diverse sound that is distinctive and incomparable to other artists.

You Are My Sunshine is a comforting title, reminding one of their childhood bedtime stories. In turn, the record incorporates themes such as happiness, joy and youthful memories. The record quickly moves from day to night and the feel turns to dark, gloomy and bleak. This drastic contrast is shown through “Not So Tough Found Out,”  whose lyrics include “Feel so warm sun fire, sun fire” (which sounds cozy, just like the album title). In contrast, “Chin Up” (first made famous on Dressed Up and In Line) contains somber lyrics, “Tip a bottle back to us filled up and you break your neck to keep your chin up.” “Should You Return” also encompasses Copeland’s unique style of orchestrated piano and guitar, mixed well with Marsh’s confident falsetto voice.

Over the past years, Copeland has taken a unique and ambitious journey in the construction of its new album where members have found an influential style that they can call their own. With Marsh leading on the vox, Copeland’s music will continue to be stellar, authentic and unique for years to come.