Behold! The bright lights and festooned rides of ‘The Carnival’ are about to wander into town. For singer-songwriter ELERI presents a music spectacular that is not to be missed. An eclectic show of country bops and reflective folk moments. Prepare for your listening ear to be drawn keenly to the sound that she presents. For this Welsh musician has a message to deliver. A celebration of female empowerment. Hear love, passion; catch a glimpse of vulnerability; and feel the music course through your body as genres mix and collide. ‘The Carnival’ is yours to enjoy. Take a seat and listen.
‘Magic’ introduces us to the concept of the album. It plays on the typical sights and sounds of the carnival scene; an atmosphere induced initially by rapturous cheering and applause. “Roll up, roll up”, ELERI cries, and so we do. Not only to be entertained by this delightful twist on a lovesong but to be spellbound by the burlesqued ‘Heels to Hell’. Its sultry, Blues inflections are reminiscent of ‘New Sin’, a continuation of her previous material, as ‘Heads I’m Yours’ threads through elements from debut album ‘Earthbound’.
The eclecticism on show here is part of her marvel. She warps and weaves many colours together to create a patchwork that truly reflects her musical style. One minute, the sweet, gentle Folk of ‘Blue Skies’ is promising better times, and the next, ‘Snake Like You’ is biting its Rock into the ‘Medicine Men’ that Elles Bailey sings so astutely about. On the latter, Millie Blooms features. And on ‘Good for a Girl’ and ‘Bang Bang’, Eädyth and Paige Wolfe appear respectively. All are powerful voices in an industry still dominated far too readily by men. ‘Good for a Girl’ cleverly turns its mansplaining and bullshitting culture on its head, offering warranted criticism whilst celebrating women in music, and challenging the inequality at its heart with dry wit and excellent irony. ‘Bang Bang’ picks up elements of the same theme and runs with it, in three-and-a-half minutes, on pure adrenalin. It is the hidden gem on ‘The Carnival’ site, tucked away behind the disco ball staging of ‘Karaoke’ and the meditative darkness of ‘Burn the Candle Down’.
There is truly something for everyone to enjoy here. To be enthralled by. And that also includes moments to contemplate, as with the flickering flame she burns with Leon Stanford on ‘Burn the Candle Down’. A simple song but so effective. As is, in some ways, ‘Every Road’, which brings ‘The Carnival’ to a close. For when all is packed up, the journeying done, and the adventure over, we often find ourselves back where we started. Back home. A subtle but poignant note on which to end.
ELERI really does put on a show here. ‘The Carnival’ is an album definitely worth buying a ticket for.
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Featured Images (C) ELERI
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