Nozart
Orphanage
3.5
The Elliot
Duo
NashvilleDreamer
4.0
Review by Aisling Lane
Review by Tipsyonturtlesoup
70
The introduction is rather beautiful and as it
develops images of snowflakes gently striking
window panes spring to mind.
The song itself is a simultaneous lament on
lost love and the loss of childhood. It remains,
despite its rather sombre subject matter, a
rather whimsical piece; it floats along rather
like a child chasing a balloon. It reminds me
of the likes of Donovan and has a carefree
flowerchild flavor to it.
Some industrial sound structures are
introduced towards the end of the piece, which
I don’t really believe add anything, although I
am still on the fence as to whether they detract
from the composition as a whole. Thankfully
they are short-lived and the rest drifts along to
a satisfying conclusion; a return to the state of
innocent bliss with which the vocal element
began.
I suppose I would be lying if I claimed that
Orphanage was not a catchy song, I did find
myself humming it at odd moments, although
perhaps that was due to the epic
procrastination I put myself through before
finally writing this review.
It certainly fits the ‘lovely music’ genre, it’s
the type of thing you could play for your
mammy and not get an earful about ‘proper’
music and ‘back in my day’. It’s also the sort
of thing I could imagine gracing numerous
television adverts and film soundtracks in the
near future. I could certainly see Nozart going
places. His choice of stage name would also
suggest that he believes he will to, although
whether he is the next Donovan or a sunshine
super sham I will leave to the reader to decide.
If, like myself, you simply listened to the
Soundcloud version of the track I urge you to
have a look at the accompanying animation by
Amanda Bonaiuto. It really is charming. It
emphasizes the hallucinatory nature of
childhood memories, illustrating the confused
mixture of emotions, drives and frustrations
inherent in the experience through the natural
archetypal imagery it employs. Taken as a
whole the animation and song work rather
wonderfully together and you could do worse
things for 5:14 minutes I suppose, except
perhaps plant a flower, although it is still far
too cold for that carry on.
From Strabane, in Northern Ireland, comes
sister-brother duet The Elliot Duo with their
newest single Nashville Dreamer, and as the
title suggests this song takes you on a trip right
into the heart of Tennessee; the home of
Country Rock music.
This acoustic hit has an easy-listening, chill
vibe to it. The rhythmic beat, relatable
storyline and clap-along to the song makes this
extremely catchy and one can imagine it being
played in a folk tavern with all the locals
raising their glasses singing along. The chorus
is powerful and encouraging, with strong
background vocals that grabs the listeners
attention and lifts the atmosphere of the song.
The two main vocalists throughout the song
are very different but work in a way that
complements one another beautifully. The
stunning acoustic guitar along with the gently
played tambourine and the rich simple sounds
of the harmonica soothes the air of the song.
To bring it to close, the song is stripped back
to just one voice and one guitar, highlighting
the true talent of this vocalist and giving the
song a goose-bump-ensured finish.
This song is definitely a must hear for lovers
of country rock, and The Elliot Duo are most
certainly worth watching as they make a huge
mark on the music scene.