ALBUM REVIEW: Coheed And Cambria – ‘The Father Of Make Believe’

Recommending a deep dive into Coheed and Cambria is a fraught task. I have tried myself and recall one friend questioning what on earth a Coheed or a Cambria was. I didn’t have an answer, finding myself in the camp of ‘casual dipper’ into the band’s now eleven album-strong discography, knowing that harder fans of lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s Amory Wars comic saga would be able to detail exactly what those characters’ deal is and how they fit into the New Yorkers’ brand of cinematic prog-rock proto-emo-pop. Like I say, they’re not a group to explain with ease or tact.

But if you like any of those buzzwords, chances are you’ll love something that Coheed has to offer, even if you come to this latest record without knowing their back catalogue. They’re masters of inventive songcraft that braves full multi-suite numbers. They also wrote scene classics A Favour House Atlantic or Welcome Home. Their emo-sidelining debut is fantastic, and the Star Wars-sci-fi comic narrative came on strong through “battle-stay-shooooons” and heavier progressive rock on their even-more fantastic In Keeping Secrets sophomore. There’s plenty more experimental brilliance in their music which, when they forgot the Amory Wars stuff on one record, turned out to be a real outlier. So here we have the third in a planned five-strong Vaxis series; an off-putting premise for many, a treat for others, but it’s certainly still in line with their resurgent, vibrant and playful sound that has underpinned the Vaxis albums so far.

The Father Of Make Believe may be quite on the nose in placing Sanchez at the titular heart of the instalment as the story’s world-builder. Yet, within his huge multimedia conceptual universe, we can afford some easier lore to latch onto as well as commend his ongoing commitment. The feeling of an unfurling entry gets right underway on Yesterday’s Lost; tinkling ivories and a folksy take that’s quite a swerve. Sanchez portrays his omniscience with some MacBethian allusions—“life’s a parade, travellers marooned, here in a play that shortly will end soon”—where his solo acoustic forays (he’s been doing some inspired covers recently) are also flexed on Corner My Confidence. In the title track, we get glimpses into the characters’ morals and personal battles driven by a stomping, marching tempo where Josh Eppard’s one-pedal kicks make up just one part of his flairy workhorse style that offers so much to Coheed’s signature (amongst greatness through past drummers Taylor Hawkins and Chris Pennie).

The record’s first half could be considered ‘normal service resumed’ music-wise, but that’s not to its detriment. Goodbye, Sunshine’s soaring chorus displays Sanchez’ emphatic vocal which would be an anthemic pop song in another artists’ hands. Searching For Tomorrow was a perfect choice for a single with driving Eppard beats and fun lead licks from the ever faithful Travis Stever. Its closing four-track suite also gives us flavours of Coheed’s main draws; the groovy and off-kilter Welcome To Forever, Mr. Nobody, the epic-in-miniature The Flood has some crazy instrumental breaks and Zach Cooper’s free flowing bass is wonderful on Tethered Together.

In fact it’s the final track So It Goes that represents some of the left-turns that also prove divisive in the album’s middle. It almost lilts with whimsy like a Singing In The Rain musical number that could have been a Mika song once. The “yeah, yeah, yeah, give us some!” gang chant refrain in Blind Side Sonny feels a remnant of noughties pop past, courtesy of P!nk, amongst a weird lean into snarly punk. Play The Poet hides outstanding playing moments in a bit of a congealed mess of nu-metal breakdowns, talk-rapping and robotic voiceovers. If you’ve gotten this far into the review, it’ll be obvious that kitsch is a large part of Coheed’s appeal, but Someone Who Can’s synth-guitar leads and blip bloop lead into the final chorus (which sounds like speeding up a ramp on a Mario Kart Rainbow Road map) fulfills the function of sci-fi cheesiness a little too much.

All in all, you can’t knock Coheed for making this Vaxis mid-point a time to reel off both tried-and-true styles and some unfamiliar offerings that occasionally miss the mark. For all the experimentation, The Father Of Make Believe is perhaps one of the most thematically straightforward in the Amory Wars efforts and, as is typical of the Coheed brand, serves as a pick-and-play for the casual fan and a collection ripe for delving far into for their more devoted followers—very much still a commendable entry to their enduring and inventive legacy thirty years (!) on.

For fans of: The Used, Fall Out Boy, Rush

‘The Father Of Make Believe’ by Coheed And Cambria is released on 14th March on Virgin Music Group.

Words by Elliot Burr