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Opening with a lively, bright and cinematic kind of sound, Ellenby inspires as a romantic though aloof vision of the strange world beyond our fingertips with flowing multi layered melodies, subtle and sophisticated rhythms and accomplished, unselfconscious musicianship.
Consisting of musician Ben Goddard and Liz Young on vocals and a presumably mutable band of some form in the background, the product oozes musical credentials and integrity, which seem to have been the life story of both performers for quite some time.
What we have here is a kind of grungy folk music, perhaps minus some of the more caustic attitudes which so appeal about the former genre, and also some of the grittiness of the latter perhaps better described as 'folk-rock' - folk with a big band sound.
Liz Young's vocals are superbly well modulated, impassioned, forceful and yet light and graceful. The interplay between her voice and the complex sounds underlying her singing is purposeful and effective, giving us a renewed romantic interpretation of the world, often unfolding within descriptions of our common human failings.
Standouts include the opening track Circling with its bursting energetic harmonica, the anthemic Blind the Sun, with its almost Springsteen like chorus and the ultra-romantic widescreen vision Turning In A Corner, its spaghetti western type trumpet giving a very Latin feeling to the track.
The overall effect is dynamic, tuneful and quite romantic, in a grown up sort of way. It is perhaps a little uneventful and well packaged to hold the attention for a long time, You may not be listening to it again in 10 years time, but it could serve as good 'personal music video' type music, good for a long journey perhaps...
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