Permit me to make a bad joke: Coping should actually be called Moping. Go ahead, roll your eyes, but lyrics like, “I’ll hold anyone just to feel at home” and, “I guess you didn’t know, but, baby, I can scream” should make the pining teenager in you cringe. This is textbook emo with shrill, belting vocals and enough flagrant hammer-on’s and pull-off’s to make one wonder if King Emo has mandated that the guitar can only be played this way. Each song is tonally similar and entirely interchangeable. The lack of aggression and creativity under-utilizes the talents of these young dudes. Ultimately, this record is a big, sappy blur. I can only recommend Nope to those still recovering from Snowing’s break up over two years ago.
–Sean Arenas (Protagonist)