Cooking Vinyl [Release date 09.08.24]

Elles Bailey represents different things to different people. She schooled in roots, rock, blues and Americana. And it’s the latter genre along with her openness to song writing collaborations which gives ‘Beneath The Neon Glow’ its broad sweep.

The album benefits from a thoughtful balance of emotive songs and organic band interplay in support her evocative soulful phrasing, while Dan Weller’s intricate production teases out subtle dynamics, polishes the melodies and elucidates lyrical meaning.

‘Beneath The Neon Glow’ is that rare thing, a transatlantic sounding, song driven album with enough lyrical integrity, emotional weight and musical vitality to question the utility of labels such as UK Americana.

It’s a well crafted album which suggests good song-writing transcends all genres.

And if ‘Leave the Light On’ and ‘Silhouette In The Sunset’ fleetingly broach the formulaic Nashville commercial imperative, her lyrics still shine through on the former, while the light and wistful feel of the latter is not too far removed from Mark Knopfler.

She’s at her best when pursuing the kind of song writing independence that has brought her this far as a crossover artist.

‘Beneath The Neon Glow’ gives her a loosely defined concept – that of overcoming moments of self doubt – which she does with plenty to spare, on a number of convincing relationship songs.

Some appear autobiographical , others are imagined and all are universally relatable. They are delivered with the kind of emotional conviction and integrity that marks her out as being special.

The opening ‘Enjoy The Ride’ is a good example of her use of prosody, as the musical whirl of shuffle rhythms, slide, harp, snappy percussion and a nuanced vocal evokes the velocity of the ride she wants to enjoy.

Interpreted as a metaphor for her career, it’s not far short of being a perfect opening statement of intent.

‘Truth Ain’t Gonna Save Us’, is another example of her musical and lyrical synchronicity, as she ushers in a perfect opening vocal attack over an acoustic/electric wash leading to a harmony vocal chorus: “What once was love will break us, nothing left but shadows in the dust.”

And just when you think it’s all doom and gloom she finds a resolving line: “Don’t you know the truth ain’t gonna save us, but it will set us free.”

An unexpected fluid guitar solo then further amplifies the uplifting lyrical message.

The impassioned slow burn (no pun intended) of ‘Let It Burn’ sets the marker for the album as a whole.

The portentous opening piano chords rack up our expectations, tapping into Katey Brooks’s trademark soul and gospel feel, on a peerless vocal that drown us in the emotional weight of a broken relationship song.

The light acoustic ‘Ballad of A Broken Dream’ is a country rock arrangement dwelling on the vulnerable artistic temperament. The sharply contrasting lyrical gloom and an uplifting arrangement give the track an ambivalent open ended feel.

There’s a lovely flow to the album based on relaxed mid-tempo grooves, salient melodies, rich harmonies and a linear conceptual theme which runs through the album as a whole.

How else to explain the treacly, country funked up, percussive wah-wah tinged ‘1972’, on which her husky vocal owes much to Bonnie Raitt and Janiva Magness as it draws us into some colourful retro imagery.

‘If This Is Love’ is a self affirmation relationship song built on a fatter sound with busy gospel bv’s.

Her use of assonance on an energetic bridge brings additional zest to the track that serves to emphasize her exit from a toxic relationship.

‘Love Yourself’ is more lyrically introspective and has a great opening line: “Dull eyes that used to light up the room, now muddy with the weight of the years.”

Jonny Henderson’s funky Fender Rhodes is as the perfect vehicle for her self confident lyrics: “Take a look in the mirror, how it should see what we can’t see, scrape the dirt is it clearer, there ain’t nothing you can’t be.”

Gospel bv’s fill the hook before a lovely break-down at the 3 minute mark, where she rebuilds the groove with the repeated titular hook with a ‘call and response’ section which you could imagine Joe Cocker or Billy Preston singing in their prime..

‘Beneath The Neon Glow’ glistens with lyrical and musical maturity. It’s an album built on meaningful songs moulded by experience, but not defined by them. They give the album an almost confessional feel, but one from which she learns and moves on.

She rounds things off with the meditative ‘Turn Off The News’, a bluesy book-end which plays to her strengths as a story telling narrator, while her slightly weathered vocal wraps itself round angst ridden lyrics: “Why slam the door when the demons are trying to break through, turn off the news.”

This is an excellent album that deserves to push Elles Bailey into the higher echelons of contemporary singer-songwriters. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)