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"West Land showcases Shane Cooley’s dedication to the art of the song as much as it reflects his life on the road in America."

~Danny McCloskey, The Alternate Root Magazine


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Shane Cooley, who recently won 2nd place as "Best Male Artist" in the International Acoustic Music Awards, says that his new album, West Land, represents his departure from a past life. Most of the songs are about exploring new cities out West, and living on the American road. Partnered with producer Stewart Myers (Jason Mraz, Lifehouse), Cooley played most of the instruments on the album himself, including drums, guitars, piano and harmonica.

"West Land is for all intents and purposes a 70s record," said Cooley. "I have always felt like I was born in the wrong time, and have been envious of the artists that were around in that era. Music was treated with a degree of respect then, from both the artists' perspective and the audience's." Despite his reputation for being a prolific songwriter, Cooley treated the album as if it were to be on two-sided vinyl. He narrowed it down to seven songs he thought were appropriate thematically. "It's not about how many songs can I throw on a CD," Cooley explains, "These songs fit together, and are meant to be listened to that way." Cooley sites Neil Young's Harvest and Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town as two "holy grails of influences" for production and arrangements.