Empire State
Hemifran/Paraply, 2024
8/10
A veteran singer-songwriter, the Los Angeles resident Greg Copeland brings plenty of emotion and strong lyrical prowess to these 5 Americana fueled songs.
“Boon Time” opens with Tyler Chester’s warm bass and Jay Bellarose’s well timed percussion that suits Copeland’s laidback voice and rhythmic vision, and “We Are The Gathered” follows with some ambience, before Copeland’s acoustic rhythm guitar and Greg Leisz’s glowing pedal steel guide the rich and mysterious landscape.
The middle spots belong to the intimate and hushed “4:59:59”, where warm acoustic guitar and light piano complement the slight grit in Copeland’s bright storytelling, while “Coyotes” is a quick field recording of the animal in its natural habitat. The final piece, “Empire State”, is the best selection and utilizes Jennifer Condos’ flowing bass and Val McCallum’s spirited electric guitar for the diverse version of Americana that’s heartfelt and eloquent.
Copeland’s debut arrived in 1982, and his very literate and sincere songwriting is still very much aglow via these timeless folk, country, rootsy ideas.
Travels well with: Alan Walker- A Little Too Late; Laurie Lewis- Trees