Review: Elles Bailey ‘Beneath the Neon Glow’
By Hal Horowitz
Although UK singer/songwriter Elles Bailey has already notched a stellar, multi-award winning career since releasing 2015s debut EP, it’s likely that many in the States might be unaware of her significant accomplishments. That might be rectified with Beneath the Neon Glow (out August 9).
Her fourth full-length arrives after winning a clutch of UK Americana and UK Blues awards including UK Live Act of the Year (2024 and 2023), Album of the Year (2020, 2021, 2023), along with Vocalist and Song of the Year (2023, 2020). She has also been inducted into the UK Blues Hall of Fame. With all these honors, it’s odd she wouldn’t have already created a larger splash stateside.
Part of the issue is that she hasn’t played America much, preferring to take the stage in the UK and other European countries. That’s especially frustrating because her music hews to a rootsy, yet radio-ready West Coast pop/rock that’s a natural fit for the US.
With a voice, if not quite a style, like other UK female artists such as Adele, Joanne Shaw Taylor and especially the late Christine McVie, Bailey sings with a husky, compelling flair. She writes original songs—all ten on this set are partially credited to her—geared to an organic pop sensibility, with blues tendrils running through them.
As a professional musician for a decade, Bailey can already be considered a veteran. Her confident swagger, whether cranking out soulful rockers (“Love Yourself”) or bittersweet ballads (the lovely “Silhouette In a Sunset”), is immediately obvious. These recordings are backed by her talented road quartet, as opposed to studio pros, providing a more natural approach which further ups her game.
Bailey gets gritty on the rolling melodic, Americana-touched “Truth Ain’t Gonna Save Us,” an admission that a relationship isn’t working (“We’re nothing left but shadows in the dust”) or sometimes goes full-on diva. She unleashes the latter on the epic “Let It Burn,” another tune about the dissolution of a romantic situation. Here she and producer Dan Weller ramp up the tension on the disc’s most stunning offering. Reverb and spooky female backing vocals create tension that feels like a lit fuse waiting for an explosion. Spellbinding stuff.
As if exhaling after that intense moment, Bailey shifts to the pop/gospel influenced “Love Yourself” that wouldn’t be out of place on a Mavis Staples collection. She croons with power and commitment that “You gotta learn to love yourself,” as the music gradually gets more churchy with a resilient blues backbone. The vibe goes retro with the percussive, sunshiny love tune 1972, a natural single with an instantly memorable chorus, backing vocals, horns and a bubbling, contagious Little Feat chug.
Bailey knows she’s fortunate to do what she loves following her dreams as a pop/blues artist as expressed in the opening “Enjoy the Ride.” “If I don’t try I’m doomed to always wonder….regrets ain’t gonna help me when I’m six feet deep….” is her motto as the propulsive band cooks behind her.
“Sit back, buckle up and enjoy the ride,” is not just the song’s chorus, but a recommendation to all roots music lovers to embrace Bailey’s artistry and join her on Beneath the Neon Glow’s captivating and enticing radiance.
Watch “1972”
Leave A Comment