One of the most frustrating things for me about the Covid lockdowns, apart from the isolation and difficulties for many, was that there was so little meaningful change afterwards. I mean the world stopped, we had time to contemplate modern life, capitalism and the Anthropocene. Nature came back into the cities, large scale pollution stopped, the neoliberal hamster wheels ground to a halt, and governments, business and your average Joe just couldn't wait for business to get back to normal. It was perhaps humanity's last chance to set a new sustainable, synergistic course with our planetary home and we didn't take it. Let's see how that turns out.
Some brave souls did make serious personal changes though, whether it was developing side hustles, moving somewhere with a garden or just getting fitter, and Elly Kace was one. An already acclaimed opera sing, who probably found herself at a very loose end as concert halls and music supply chains shut, she took stock, took control and developed a nice line in self composed and produced pop based autonomy.
Her LP, Nothing I See Means Anything, was an accomplished debut that floated around the modern singer songwriter pop world, as was 2023's sophomore - Object Permanence, both of which, despite their quality, were a bit too commercial leaning to make it onto the TSMM radar, although I've got to respect her work ethic - this woman is not hanging about.
Her new 2024 material appears to be heading in a more ethereal, soft edged experimental and hence TSMM friendly direction though, and my ears are now tingling. "i wish you were different" is her fourth single this year and it's a classically imbued, ambient pop gem. As you'd imagine you can't fault her voice, those vocal tones are pure and true with an impressive range, but what is now setting her apart from her peers is her increasingly distinctive production. Here she calls in Aaron Edgcomb for some marimba assistance (credits are currently sparse - I presume it's him), to add some welcome organic matter to the soundscape swirls which restlessly morph between synthesized clouds of low gravity electronics and classical constructs. It's a potent combination.
Can I suggest you start here then work your way back through the rest of 2024's singles, and pray the LP when it drops is more of the same.
Playlist Companion
Find Elly enriching the Ambient Pop Playlist, alongside a host of other ethereally inclined, alternative and independent artists.
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