Copia

Album Review

Eluvium (aka Matthew Cooper) musically moves off in a dramatic new direction on Copia, his fourth album. Having already eschewed guitars, Cooper now leaves behind the heavily electronic feel of his previous set, Talk Amongst the Trees, plumping instead for an orchestral sound and majestic air that permeate this entire set. "Amreik" opens the album like the dawn, a gloriously symphonic piece lit by brass, which delicately colors the brightening sky until the sun bursts over the horizon. The next two tracks, although separate pieces, seem like continuations of the first, both filled with introspective atmospheres and stately qualities. All three are mesmerizing in effect, as moods shimmer and gently shift, and the symphonic music sweeps across the grooves and washes over the listener. The haunting piano piece "Prelude for Time Feelers" finally breaks the spell, along with its brighter companion "Radio Ballet," a classical piece that indeed conjures up barre exercises. This pair is broken up by "Requiem on Frankfort Ave.," a subtle and sublime work that itself is an exercise in coalescing atmospheres. After the brief experimental "(Intermission)," the gliding strings enter in force for "After Nature," with attention now shifting back to the piano for the opening of "Reciting the Airships," a moody, almost yearning piece filled with swelling strings and synth. On "Ostinato" they billow out in cathedral-like cadences, only to disappear into the pouring rain of "Hymn #1." The album ends with the regal "Repose in Blue," with a blaze of fireworks announcing the ascension of a new ruler or perhaps another glorious dawn, thus bringing the set full circle. A magnificent set, awash in textures, atmospheres, moods, and emotion.