Coyle Girelli - Funland (2022)

As the pandemic raged across the globe, Coyle Girelli found the inspiration to write his second solo album Funland deep in the woods of Vermont as he was drawn towards the concept of a mythical place. The outcome proves to be a wonderful collection of rich and atmospheric soundscapes with Coyle Girelli emerging as the ultimate balladeer with a vocal style which absorbs all that is great about the likes of Roy Orbison and Richard Hawley.

Coyle Girelli is an English born multi-platinum composer, singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist who has finally been finding his feet as a solo artist following the release of his first solo album, Love Kills, in 2018. Previously he had fronted two alternative rock bands Your Vegas and The Chevin but has since enjoyed significant success in other fields through writing for other major artists, and also in the world of musical theatre.

Having been based in Manhattan, New York for the past decade or so, the release of his debut album brought significant critical acclaim Stateside, being described as a beautifully dark masterpiece. But not much more than one year later the world was immersed in turmoil, uncertainty and in many cases isolation which resulted in Coyle decamping much further north to the green mountain state of Vermont to get a very different perspective on life. And it was here that the green shoots of the new album started to emerge and develop almost as a form of therapy and survival through these very difficult months.

As Coyle describes, “Funland was a concept I had been kicking around before I started writing. A nightmare place of escape, debauchery, vice and pleasure. I wrote the songs while holed up in the woods in Vermont as the pandemic raged and the concept took on a whole new meaning as the New York City I was missing got entwined with this other mythical place that I had created in my mind and it became Funland”.