Singer/songwriter Eloise has proven that it only takes her four songs to completely draw you in. Her jazzy style and soothing voice make for such easy listening – throw in her ever-open and intimate lyrics and she’s found herself a recipe for success.
I first came across her best known song You, Dear a few months ago on a Song Radio and have since gotten to know the remaining three off her debut EP This Thing Called Living (2019). The short collection has been her only release so far, though she’s not new to the music industry. She’s long been working with Bruno Major, first as his keyboardist and later tour support act, and their music complements each other’s perfectly. If you’ve ever listened to Major’s work, you’ll immediately notice that Eloise’s sound is almost a female reflection of it – or vice versa. Major was also heavily involved in the production of Eloise’s EP, half of it recorded at his studio.
Citing Billie Joel, Gilbert O’Sullivan and Blossom Dearie as some of her music icons, Eloise describes --- "They let you so far into a feeling for the 4 minute duration of the songs. They also sing the lyrics how they would speak them timing wise – it’s so free and conversational and I believe them.” Fitting, of course, that her own music has these same qualities.
She once said that she only writes songs rooted in her own experience --- “I have to know the feeling inside out to write it" --- and it’s this vulnerable honesty that makes her songs so relatable.
The four songs of This Thing Called Living make for an extremely coherent arc. The songs seamlessly blend into one another – not in a repetitive way, but rather in one that allows you to naturally feel the progression of her emotions when listened to in order.
You, Dear marks the first ‘stage’, as she reflects on falling for the wrong person. A perfect mix of playful and regretful (“You, dear / I didn’t think I’d find you here, roaming in the corners of my mind), her delicate lilt takes center stage with the soft background humming adding a sweet and soulful edge. Most alluring about her voice is how effortless and spontaneous her singing sounds ("free and conversational", as she put it) – especially with her more jazzy vocals during the bridge.
TTCL then pulls us into the depth of the ensuing heartbreak. The lyrics of this song are so disarmingly sincere, again sung through like an bare train of thought. She doesn’t hold back in dramatically expressing the ache that consumes you after the end of a relationship – “Tell me how do you get on with your days because mine have turned from blue to grey”. I haven’t heard many other songs that are so straight-forward and real in their emotional reflection (“I live with the knowledge that your mind is free of me while my heart lingers on you"), and the slow-motion beat that joins in after the first chorus perfectly fits the feeling of fatigue with which she sings. I also love the little vocal runs that she falls into between lines.
Left Side – my favourite of the EP – brings us to ‘stage 3’. In Eloise’s words, it’s “about having to make yourself get your head around the fact that, if you push through the heart ache, you WILL be okay.” In this one, we find her slowly feeling ready to move forward, affirming to herself --- “Someday I will heal / I’ll grow another heart / and I guess until then I’ll endure the falling apart.” It’s a hopeful song with a mournful tinge, and supported by minimal instruments, all of the emotion is carried only in her voice.
Finally, Subside thankfully leaves us on a more upbeat note, as we find the singer indulging in the butterflies of a new love – and just like that, we're brought full circle. We also beautifully get to hear her jazzy side on full display, with almost a full final minute of scat singing at the end.
This short debut EP holds so much truth, and luckily there's more to come: when asked of her plans for the future, she said – “Live a bit, run wild, make a mess, clean it up and write about it!” Hopefully she’s doing just that.
In the meantime, happy listening!
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