Copeland You Are My Sunshine CD

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE marks Copeland's return to the indie scene after a brief hiatus during which the successful Florida outfit considered aligning itself with Columbia Records and released the stopgap, odds-and-sods collection DRESSED UP AND IN LINE before settling down with sympathetic indie imprint Tooth & Nail. The confident and assured YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE exhibits little evidence of this turmoil, however, and sounds like a logical progression from the rapidly maturing emo pop of 2006's EAT, SLEEP, REPEAT. As always, Aaron Marsh's whispery, Elliott Smith-like vocals establish a rather subdued tone that allows relative innovations like the unusual chord progression of "The Grey Man" and the horn dappled hooks of "The Day I Lost My Voice (The Suitcase Song)" to lend subtle sonic coloring to this pleasing, unobtrusive record.

Copeland returns with a brand new record delicately crafted by a production wonderteam: Aaron Sprinkle, Aaron Marsh, and mixer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer, My Morning Jacket). With an 11 track offering of lush soundscapes, driving guitars and brilliant lyrics Copeland has never been more prolific, heartfelt, or sonically dynamic. This special edition includes an 11 song filmtrack, documentary about the band and other unique footage all packaged within a deluxe box. Extras include 11 music videos documentary about Copeland, unique live footage, photo gallery, extended artwork, and deluxe box.

Programmer: Cakeface.

Audio Mixer: Michael Brauer.

Copeland: Aaron Marsh (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Bryan Laurenson (guitars); Jon Bucklew (drums).

Additional personnel: Rae Cassidy (vocals); Chris Carmichael (violin, viola, cello); Dan Bachelor (clarinet); Jacob Kauffmann (bassoon); Robert Parker (trumpet, flugelhorn).

Alternative Press (p.134) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] finds them applying their knack for texture and arrangement to a shimmering collection of smart, concise indie-pop songs that hover around the three- or four-minute mark."
Paste (magazine) (p.58) - "Florida trio Copeland continues to rise above pop-rock conventions by suffusing them with full-bodied arrangements and spiraling song structures."