It says here that Nick Ellis is a Liverpool-based singer who "blends streetscape narrative-noir with a classic British acoustic approach".
The man himself says: “I see my songs as chapters and scenes, my albums as movies and books. Except, in this film, these stories are true”.
This debut long player, was recorded in one six-hour Sunday evening stint in Liverpool's St. George's Hall Crown Court Room.
Ellis says his songs are mainly about the city's dwellers who exist, ghost-like, on the fringes of society although on My Old Flame and Lovers In July his thoughts are clearly more on his own romantic encounters.
It is his elegant acoustic guitar playing, more than song stories, that grabs the ear. This is shown to fine effect on the three instrumentals Dance Of The Cat Good Morning, Mr. Hirons and Raise The Arc.
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A chugging electric guitar on In The Park is a brief departure and this, together with a song about tabloid lies (The Early Morning News) put me in mind of Billy Bragg's debut EP although Ellis seems more influenced by folk-blues artists like John Martyn or Tim Buckley than The Clash.
The sound is crisp, his voice is strong and while the songs lack the immediacy I think he's striving for, there's a real sense that Ellis is an artist on the brink of finding his true voice.
Watch this space.
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