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ELEANOR McEVOY Out There MOSACD303(2006)
Eleanor McEvoy is not an artist easy to pigeonhole. Irish, folk, pop, rock, country? Her last two albums - Yola and Early Hours - have been modern day singer songwriter masterpieces. Yet by and large she remains an undiscovered talent.
Never one to 'go with the flow', Out There is yet another outstanding album with the classic McEvoy hallmarks of great songs, wonderful vocals and magnificent production.
The album sees Eleanor take a further step along the DIY road, taking on all instrumental parts with the exception of some percussive input from Liam Bradley, and the help of Dave Rotheray (The Beautiful South and Homespun) who guests on the co-written Quite I Love You Unquote. And as on recent releases the instrumentation and arrangements are sparse, allowing the songs and performance space to breathe.
Out There encompasses folk, blues, country, traditional, acoustic and even light jazz. Admittedly this can put some people off and big record labels never like anyone who doesn't fit their neat marketing niches. More fool them, but this suits Eleanor who prefers to plough her own furrow.
This really is a lovely record full of intriguing lyrics and some truly wonderful vocals - a real spine tingle is (When You) Smile', whilst 'Little Look' would garner airplay on late night BBC Radio 2. Eleanor also tackles a couple of interesting covers - Little Feat's Roll Um Easy, which closes the album in fitting style and a beautiful stripped back and slowed down version of version of Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me.
Out There in another superb and varied album from an artist who deserves wider exposure. Fantastic voice, thought provoking lyrics and neat instrumentation. And as with her last two albums, Out There is released in audiophile SACD format. What more can you ask for?
****½ Review by Pete Whalley and Jason Ritchie
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