While by no means a Copyrights completist, I’ve played shows with these guys, own a few of their albums, and think I have decent handle on what they do. They’re a solid, tremendously tight band, and they expertly navigate that fine line between embracing the parameters of pop punk (melody, speed, energy) without ever falling victim to the genre’s tendency towards cartoonishness, which just kills shit for me personally. After nearly twenty years of putting out records, they’ve landed on Fat, and they’ve essentially put out the same hook-laden album that they’ve been putting out since 2003. Whether that’s a drag or not is purely personal—for me, I think Alone in a Dome is tight and well-realized (think a smoother, less jagged Banner Pilot or even Rivethead) but manages to break little new ground. Still, if you dig the band, you’ll almost certainly dig the hell out of this. –Keith Rosson (Fat)