In the tumult of this world, there are constants. People need each other. Every motion brushes against others, moving. None of us are siloed and none of us are still. The music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland drinks deeply from these truths. For decades, the Philadelphia-born, Canada-based singer, songwriter, and composer has drawn myriad musical practices toward a single, luminous conviction: that music can shake us loose from what closes us off from each other. His multifaceted body of work surrenders to the beauty, pain, and great capacity for healing that courses through life; in its unguarded sincerity, it invites you to share in its courage. Glenn-Copeland’s new album, The Ones Ahead — his first collection of new music in nearly two decades — deepens these explorations, casting searching light into how all of us must dissolve the harms of this world and carry each other forward into the next.

Glenn-Copeland recorded The Ones Ahead in collaboration with producer John Herbermann and Indigo Rising, the band who accompanied him on his inaugural European tour, whose playing lends a cinematic richness to these intricately textured electroacoustic arrangements. After watching a live performance from Glenn-Copeland and Indigo Rising, Herbermann chose to record the album live from the floor, capturing the dynamic interplay among the group. The bond the musicians share and their deep trust in one another shine through these songs. Kurt Inder’s elegiac slide guitar glows against Nick Dourado’s delicate piano on “Love Takes All,” while on “Harbour (Song for Elizabeth),” Glenn-Copeland trades verses with singer Jeremy Costello, who echoes the love ballad’s lyrics with warm affection over drummer Bianca Palmer’s softly brushed cymbals.

The Ones Ahead weaves together poignant themes: the need for love and mutual care in the face of destruction and uncertainty, the power people have when they reach out for each other, the ways that the wisdom of past generations can guide us along the path forward.

From the stirring, rapturous “People of the Loon” to the gorgeously flowing “Prince Caspian’s Dream,” The Ones Ahead cultivates a vibrant hope for this world and what it must become to survive. A new chapter in an expansive and unique body of work, Glenn-Copeland’s latest album offers flowering wisdom for the world to come, needed now more urgently than ever.

Tracks:

1. Africa Calling
2. Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)
3. Love Takes All
4. People Of The Loon
5. Stand Anthem
6. The Ones Ahead
7. Prince Caspian’s Dream
8. Lakeland Angel
9. No Other