About

Following a crowd-sourced documentary in 2019 which took his story wider still, Transmissions is the first formal attempt to gather works from across Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s career in one place. The physical copy spans just nine tracks and 47 minutes (although the digital edition extends past the hour mark), which appears slight for an artist who could easily command double the runtime. Given the wide variety of styles and moods across the compilation, as well as the potential for emotional overload, a gentle introduction might be an act of mercy. At numerous points, it can seem as if you’ve flipped over to a different record entirely.

While the sequencing on Transmissions does fortify a greater understanding about Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s gift, the comp essentially ties a bow atop an established feel-good story. The same themes recur with every review, interview, and radio special: joy, acceptance, redemption, magic. What does it say about us that we’re all lusting after hope? It’s inevitable, perhaps: the coalescence around his music is a welcome unifier in an ugly age. From his belated emergence on the world stage in the wake of Keyboard Fantasies, through feature-length films and right up until this compilation’s release, people have jostled non-stop to place their hand upon this beacon of light. Glenn-Copeland has obliged each one. – Pitchfork