Ixora felt like it came out of nowhere and became one of my favorite records. Its just such a delight to listen to. Aaron's voice is just perfect on this one.
Copeland is a particularly tricky band to have a poll like this for. While In Motion is, on balance, my favorite album from start to finish, I absolutely recognize that their artistic output has consistently improved from release to release, and their latest work is generally their greatest work from that perspective. ESR is staggering, YAMS is gorgeous, Ixora is haunting, but I just can’t get over how melodically stunning so much of In Motion is, especially for a sophomore release. Hold Nothing Back is like pure honey dripping into my ears and got me through major heartache a decade ago. I’ll always be indebted to it for that.
... I just remembered that ESR has When You Thought You’d Never Stand Out and now I’m conflicted. That string section alone is worth the price of admission. And fuck, YAMS kicks off with Should You Return, a track so heartbreakingly melancholy that I have no choice but to swim in my own memories while listening to it. THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE.
I voted YAMS, but honestly, it's a tie with Ixora for number one. It could really go either way depending on the day.
Ixora for me but IM was the first album I listened to from them, so itll always be special. Handful of amazing songs from all their albums though, but Ixora I think is the strongest beginning to end. I'm going to guess Blushing is going to become second favorite, but Ive only heard the singles so far.
Ixora. Was so blown away when they came back with that. An incredibly beautiful album with so many incredible songs.
I honestly think everyone is going to give you a different answer. You can't go wrong anywhere, really. I'd start from the newest and go back.