Marco Kopac - Duality

Marco Kopac

Duality
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

Marco Kopac is a musician from Philadelphia, PA who recently released a four-song EP entitled Duality. When he was in high school and college he was in a number of bands but after graduating and teaching English in Italy he took a bit of a hiatus. It would be another two years before he began to write songs.

The songs he wrote for Duality are fairly basic and revolve around piano and vocals. There is no denying there are similarities to Billy Joel and Elton John not just because of the sparse instrumentation but because of the songwriting and delivery. I would argue that he has more in common with Billy Joel. 

Kopac is a decent singer. He hits the right notes and has good emotion when he sings. That being said his natural voice didn’t make the hair on my arms stand up and my jaw never dropped. He isn’t the same league as an Antony Hegarty but he could give an above average piano bar singer something to think about. I felt similarly about the piano melodies. The piano parts weren't the most technically impressive I have heard this year but they served the songs well. 

The strongest aspect of Duality is the lyrics and songwriting. Take for instance the opener and highlight “Man of Action.” I thought Kopac delivered his strongest vocal performance and the drums worked well in the song. He sings, “Ain’t hard to fake what you have done / Ain’t hard to lose what you have won / Impossible to live on your own damn time, / break your own damn spine...for yourself.”.

“Last Words with Mary M.” can be open to interpretation. He seems to singing about a breakup at points but there are a lot of religious overtones, which make you question the meaning behind the words. He sings, “Upon our meeting we were bound by seven demons / And I blindly cast them away / I thought that through me you’d find liberation / But instead I created a cage.” “Wisest Woman” is a contemplative, melancholy song while the closer “Hold On, We're Goin Home (Drake)” almost feels like an extension regarding the overall feel. 

Duality has some inspired moments. I would have liked to hear a bit more and see if there were others sides to Kopacs’ songwriting. Recommended.

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