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Review: Citizen Cope - One Lovely Day [Album]

Rainwater Recordings // "The brightest moments of beauty are when the instrumentation is at its sparsest"

by ivarmac, July 11th, 2012 and has been Read 1682 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire July 11th, 2012.

Citizen Cope has a strong pedigree as a songwriter, his compositions snapped up by the likes of Santana, Corey Taylor, Dido and Rhymefest. In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s a pretty damn varied selection of references and speaks of Cope’s ability to write a great tune that crosses genres with ease. Here at Altsounds HQ, however, we’re all about the present and this takes us to his new album One Lovely Day, so let’s dive in!

One Lovely Day begins with the soft and dreamy title track ‘One Lovely Day’ and you immediately get the sense of craft and care that accompanies Citizen Cope’s work. Used in Battleship of all films, the strumming guitars that accompany his charmingly throaty singing voice build into a lilting, beautiful chorus backed by an uplifting string section. Deceptively simple, the engaging combo of instruments and Citizen Cope’s own voice deliver a simple, timeless message of escaping to a better place.

Listen to 'One Lovely Day':

“Timeless” is a description I keep finding myself returning to over the course of One Lovely Day. Citizen Cope has a quality in his music that’s extremely hard to replicate and doubtless the reason for such endorsement from his fellow musicians. Whether it’s the slow, soulful Country Blues of ‘Dancer From Brazil’ or the upbeat Funk of ‘DFW’, each maintains a soulful, laid-back feel that really lets the songwriting shine.

Ventures into less familiar territory are also rewarding. The surely Drum and Bass-influenced drumming on ‘Peace River’, not to mention some great use of grimy static noise, compliment the rest of the song very well and lend it a fresh, dynamic air. Watery effects on Citizen Cope’s voice help to boost the dreaminess of ‘Southern Nights’ and a lush string section at the end of last song ‘Summertime’ lets Citizen Copeflex his orchestral compositional skills over a smooth RnB backing.

Listen to 'For A Dollar':

http://soundcloud.com/megaforce-music/citizen-cope-for-a-dollar

The brightest moments of beauty are, nevertheless, when the instrumentation is at its sparsest. Take for example the transcendent ‘For A Dollar’, the gentle strum of a guitar the only backing to Citizen Cope’s beguiling voice and pained lyrics. Despite the tone being a good bit more downbeat than other album tracks, it distils the appeal of this versatile songwriter whose craft shows no signs of diminishing anytime soon.

One Lovely Day is available from July 17th.

Songs to check out:

• One Lovely Day
• Peace River
• For A Dollar
• Summertime