BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND - Laughter In Summer

The dance evoked by the opening track of the new album by Beverly Glenn-Copeland is a dance of the soul, a swirl of voices and delicate instrumental textures that these nine tracks capture, once again revealing the full spirituality and greatness of the transgender singer and activist, who has only recently gained the recognition she deserves.

Something happened after the release of "The Ones Ahead", the album that marked her return after twenty years of silence. Sadly, Beverly Glenn-Copeland has since been diagnosed with rapidly advancing dementia, which has partly delayed an otherwise imminent tour and convinced Transgressive to release this precious document, recorded at the famous Hotel2Tango studios in Montreal to capture the magic of the artist's final live performances.

The lineup behind "Laughter In Summer" has been stripped down to the essentials: alongside producer Howard Bilerman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Vic Chesnutt), the record features clarinetist Naomi McCarroll-Butler, pianist Alex Samaras and a choir; but it's the presence of her partner Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland that makes these performances especially moving.

The title track is a co-written piece and one of the few unreleased tracks, an aching yet melodically weightless ballad in which Elizabeth lays down the words with a powerful emotional charge that speaks of love and loss, while Beverly intones a wordless melody before the choir lifts its deep spirituality even higher. Featured on the previous album, "Harbour" is a gorgeous love song that Beverly had dedicated to her partner: the duet is intense, underscored by a spare arrangement and faint jazz-noir shades. Equally striking is another duet, "Middle Island Lament", which recounts the painful experiences of immigrants, in this case those trying to reach Canada, the country where the couple lived for years.

The first two tracks, "Let Us Dance (Movement One)" and "Ever New", come from "Keyboard Fantasies", a small masterpiece reissued in 2017 after being originally self-released on cassette in 1986. Together with the equally elegiac "Children's Anthem", these tracks further highlight Beverly Glenn-Copeland's artistic singularity and the original fusion of folk, neoclassical and new age that critics have recently reappraised, placing albums like the aforementioned "Keyboard Fantasies" among the seminal works of contemporary music.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

15/02/2026