In case you’re a new listener, there couldn’t have been a more fitting entry point for diving into singer-songwriter Liz Cooper’s discography, like the recently released New Day, out via Sleepyhead Records. To celebrate the follow-up to 2021’s Hot Sass, Cooper will be going on tour, with an LA stop at the Moroccan Lounge on March 20.
To understand the gap between records, it’s important to understand where Cooper got her start. Beginning in Nashville, the Baltimore native emerged in the mid-2010s as part of Liz Cooper & The Stampede, a band she fronted until 2019.
Afterward, Cooper went solo upon her move to Brooklyn and expanded her ’60s-inspired sound to incorporate elements of psychedelia and indie folk music. While Hot Sass helped reintroduce Cooper, another transformative period awaited. Around this time, she underwent a queer awakening and got used to the pace in Brooklyn.
Despite Hot Sass coming out after the move, New Day seeks to address both personal and situational changes.
About the album, Cooper did not shy away from the ups and downs of putting together such a personal project. “This has been the most challenging and personal project I have ever been a part of,” she said. “I really lost myself and nearly died living it, writing it, making it and releasing it. I have never been prouder of something and continue to learn and feel empowered as I move through the process.”
That level of reinvention is evident from the first few tracks on the album. The title track is a fuzzy drift through contemplative songwriting and brief bursts of intensity, reflecting Cooper’s desire to break out of life’s cycles.
From there, you are hit with a back-to-back knockout in the form of “Better Than Ever.” Unlike the existentialism of “New Day,” “Better Than Ever” swirls around an especially thick guitar and hypnotic percussion that croaks amid the production’s lively ecosystem.
Of course, the rest of the tracklist maintains Cooper’s confrontational contemplation and continues to deliver top-notch quality. The aptly titled “Changes” is about as direct as you can be with the album’s themes, where the vocals sound as though they’re coming from a cave and the slower pace of the instruments creates an eerie atmosphere.
Among the instruments heard on “Changes” and the rest of New Day is the piano, something Cooper picked up after moving to Brooklyn. What may seem like a small fact is representative of the artist’s self-assured approach to her album.
That ability to take time to focus on your experiences and find the best ways to communicate them through your music is what makes Cooper stand out, particularly in the wake of New Day.
New Day by Liz Cooper is out on streaming services. For more on new music and tickets to her tour, including an LA date at the Moroccan Lounge on March 20, visit her website.
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