Citizen Cope Announces New Album Heroin and Helicopters, Shares Lead Single “Justice”
It's his first new album since 2012's One Lovely Day
Photo by Michael Sterling Eaton Music News Citizen Cope
On Friday morning, Citizen Cope announced his first new record in seven years.
Heroin and Helicopters is Citizen Cope’s (given name: Clarence Greenwood) seventh studio album. The record features 11 original tracks and is set for release on March 1, 2019, via his own label RainWater Recordings, in partnership with Thirty Tigers.
The album got its name from a conversation with musical legend Carlos Santana, who advised Greenwood to “stay away from the two H’s—heroin and helicopters,” explaining that both could prove disastrous to musicians.
To accompany the album announcement, Citizen Cope has released “Justice,” the lead single from Heroin and Helicopters. The track can be streamed below.
“Justice” seamlessly combines alt-rock and soul music, a signature move in Greenwood’s music since he first came onto the scene.
Throughout the single, Citizen Cope reflects on the modern world with equal parts awareness of the bad and optimism about the good. He croons, “There’s so much trouble in the world / surrounded by miracles.”
“I have never really experienced what Justice is,” says Cope in a statement about the release. “Our definition is more like revenge or payback, but I have seen love create miracles and overcome hate.”
Other themes expected to be addressed on the record are addiction and instant gratification. The album also tackles Cope’s personal struggles with religion, spirituality, politics and the superficial world of entertainment.
“Heroin and Helicopters” opens with “Duck Confit,” a spoken-word poem backed by a drum and an organ. The album also includes standouts “The River,” a slow-burning reflection on tyranny with a sense of hope, and “On My Love,” an emotional homage to Cope’s daughter Lula.
To support the record, Cope will go on tour this spring. Details are yet to be announced.
Check out “Justice,” Citizen Cope’s 2017 Paste Studio session and the Heroin and Helicopters album art, all below. You can preorder the album here.
Heroin and Helicopters Album Art:
