With country music undergoing a considerable resurgence in recent years, there’s now another voice for the world to sit up and take note of – Eleri Angharad who has now released her debut album Earthbound.
Opening with the title track, the collection gets off to a strong start and fans of the TV show Nashville might even find themselves comparing Eleri’s vocal delivery to that of Clare Bowen. With a gorgeous guitar led ‘backdrop’, the song is both beautiful and sweet in its production and delivery.
‘Sunburn’, track 3 on the album, is an undeniable highlight, with the production and instrumentation once again working perfectly with one another to add simple support to Angharad’s stunning and soaring delivery of each lyric. There’s a more upbeat feel to ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ which will almost certainly make it a fan favourite at live shows, while anyone looking for a track delivered with more of the traditional sounding country/folk sound need look no further than ‘Stronger Stuff’ although there is a little twist in the track when the music shifts slightly into a more bluesy sound – it perhaps shouldn’t work, but it REALLY does.
‘Stuck On You’ is a fantastic slice of country pop, with lyrics that many who hear them will no doubt connect with, especially if they have an ex they can’t seem to get rid of in some form or another while the piano on ‘Blood Strong’ is both stunning and mesmerising and on that basis alone, the track is worthy of numerous repeat listens. There’s a real ethereal sound to Eleri’s delivery on ‘Staircase’, a sound that was strong enough to have goose-bumps appear on my arms by mid-way through the song. In closing with an acoustic version of the albums’ title track, Eleri once again returns the listeners’ attention – not that it will likely have left it – to the utter beauty of her voice. With the instrumentation completely stripped back, the simplicity of the song and the way in which she delivers it is enough to utterly enthrall anyone who hears it.
For a new talent, Eleri Angharad is most certainly one to watch and, having created an album that takes the listener on a rather impressive journey, it will be exciting to see just where the journey will continue to take both herself and her fans in the months and years to come.
Earthbound is out now on Train Track Records.
