- Genre: 'Indie'
- Release Date: '28th September 2018'
Our Rating:
Mark Ellis will probably never escape the ‘as seen on ‘Dragon’s Den’’ having been the drummer in Hamfatter, who arguably took crowdfunding in a new – and unreplicated – direction. As songwriter, guitarist / multi-instrumentalist with singer Ellie Gillett – classically trained and straight out of university – he is one half of Elma.
While Elma still sit in the indie bracket, Ellie’s gentle, soulful vocals pitched against range of instrumental backings, from piano to acoustic guitar to full-band sound, make for a very different proposition from the more lad-orientated that at times ventures into jazz and, folk and even hints at rock of a late 60s / early 70s vintage, calling to mind Jefferson Airplane or Fleetwood Mac on the sunny ‘California’.
It’s not thrilling, but it is pleasant. You could reasonably call it a ‘mature’ album in terms of songwriting and performance. You might perhaps call it easy listening, too, and it’s certainly got mass-market potential.
