I’m not following you, just walking this way too
In moments of (their finest album) Combinations-induced delirium I have privately pronounced Eisley to be as masterful as my ultimate band, Radiohead. Their songs are so obvious in their beauty and so confidently delivered; they often feel surreal to me, like they are beaming their stuff from an alternate universe in which they are the true inventors of The Melody. How they are able to navigate through this increasingly murky land of one thousand genres while retaining such a staggering beauty and timelessness of sound continues to boggle me. They are untouched by trends and singular in their ability to evoke both a childlike innocence and the distinct melancholy that accompanies the loss of it. Everything they make sounds formed from glass – soft with sharp edges and flawlessly clear. That makes for a particularly intense listening experience, one I prefer to have through headphones. I recommend doing that with this new song of theirs, which may be one of their best ever:
Conversely, an oddity of lightness falls from the Ellie Goulding camp. It is a welcome one! Listening to this makes me think I’ve outgrown the type of cutesy lyrics that go with this whipped cloud of a melody, because I giggled at them instead of sighed. But I guess even so, Ellie Goulding is going to be one of those artists who can’t make something I dislike (or, I’m crossing my fingers about that). Instead of trite and twee, thanks to the unique combination of humor and plaintiveness in Ellie’s voice, the story of this song seems matter of fact in its confession. I’ve found myself coming over to my computer when I’m supposed to be off reading just so I can listen to it again.