COYLE GIRELLI RELEASES NEW ALBUM ‘STRIPPED’
Welding an amalgamation of new and familiar sonic swoon reimagined acoustically, the brand new album Stripped out today from the acclaimed New York-based English singer-songwriter Coyle Girelli boasts two stunning cover songs alongside, aptly, multiple stripped-back versions of tracks taken from Coyle’s previous full length albums Funland, released earlier in 2022, and Love Kills, unveiled back in 2018. Most recently, Funland’s very own Modern Noir scored an acoustic makeover, hauntingly detailing the binary opposites of everyday life while sowing the seeds for the lush new album’s ultimate release.
Upon hearing Coyle’s recent stripped back take on his own sublime track Modern Noir prior to the release of Stripped, it comes as little surprise that the single was originally conceived as an acoustic song, with Coyle’s vocals oozing over glittering guitars and melancholic melodics throughout the raw and intimate journey. But Modern Noir wasn’t the only one of Coyle’s masterpieces that was originally intended to be ‘naked’, with singles Funland, Here Comes My Baby and Flake from the 2022 stunner Funland, aka Coyle’s most recent full-length, also originally conceived as austere and unadorned arrangements. But where the album Funland, released back in February this year, still packed an emphatic punch via heart-warming feels and exquisite instrumentation, it’s on Stripped that each and every song takes on new life, granting listeners a transcendental moment of intimacy, as if Coyle himself is pouring his heart out directly in front of you throughout the album’s seven songs. And for Coyle, it’s been an equally enjoyable experience to bring this new album to fruition, as he shares, “I’m excited to be releasing an album in this form. I have a tendency to throw a lot into my productions so releasing something raw like this feels freeing. This is how the songs were written. Just me and an acoustic guitar. It really brings out aspects of the songs that maybe get missed when there’s more layers on top of them. It’s raw and honest and intimate”.
Atop Coyle’s new masterpiece Stripped is none other than a heart-wrenching cover of Leonard Cohen’s emotive ballad Famous Blue Raincoat. Delivered in Coyle’s trademark honeyed, wavering vocals and boasting intimate guitarwork, Coyle simultaneously honours the 1971 folk classic while elegantly administering his own take on the iconic melody and phrasing from Leonard’s original. Bookending Stripped is the only other cover on the album, with Coyle gifting a swaying version of Fireworks by Swedish duo First Aid Kit. Sitting poignantly between these two covers on Stripped are acoustic takes on previous Coyle fare, including the single Naked Soul from Coyle’s 2018 album Love Kills, as well as the aforementioned Funland tracks Modern Noir, Here Comes My Baby, Flake and the titular track Funland itself. Intending from the get-go to begin and end Stripped with a cover, the ultimate selection and slight tweaking of the two tracks to suit the album’s tone came easily for Coyle, as he explains, “Famous Blue Raincoat is one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite artists Leonard Cohen. I love this song so much and loved throwing my mind and voice into it. As always with Cohen, incredible lyrics and storytelling. And it seemed a perfect song to add to the stripped collection. First Aid Kits’ Fireworks is another beauty that I enjoyed stripping down to fit the vibe of the album. It’s one of my favorite melodies written in recent years. I love how it floats”.
Self-produced while intertwining some of Coyle’s most beloved releases as well as some of his own personal favourites, Stripped presents a unique and unforgettable chance for fans to re-immerse themselves in a new-yet-familiar setting, with Coyle’s unparalleled vocals front and centre at the beating heart of this entrancing new album. Also boasting glimmering guitarwork on the album provided by Simon Kafka, engineering and mixing by Phil Joly, and mastering by John Davis at Metropolis in London, Stripped is ultimately Coyle at his most genuine; and it’s this carefully curated simplicity that showcases the beloved troubadour’s staggering expertise and craftsmanship. Put more simply, as Coyle himself perfectly summates, “On Stripped I literally stripped the songs back to their truest form. It’s just me and two acoustic guitars”.
A multi-platinum selling artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Coyle is the living and breathing epitome of a jack of all trades, having previously written songs for the likes of Peking Duk, Macklemore, Robin Schulz, Westlife and K-Pop marvels BTS, while his sumptuous tracks also continue to be in hot demand on the airwaves, with previous singles Fun and Do You Wanna Dance? snagging radio additions in the UK and North America. Recently returning to a live performance setting touring with legendary English post-punks Psychedelic Furs in North America, Coyle has also been relishing reconnecting with fans in person and busting out some new material along the way, as he enthuses, “It was fantastic to see Psychedelic Furs and be back out on the road. And I loved seeing lots of familiar faces and fans that I’ve not seen in a few years enjoying the new music! Performing at the Apollo in Harlem, New York City was a real treat. So much history and magic in that space. We got given Ray Charles’ old dressing room which was special. Magical musical ghosts all over the place!”.
With ongoing and overwhelming critical acclaim at every step, including his earlier 2022 album Funland finding itself in contention for album of the year for Rolling Stone Australia, Coyle’s reputation to make any listener weak at the knees and ears like a modern-day Roy Orbison is only set to intensify following the release of Stripped today.
Stripped is out today, Friday July 22.