Elles Bailey: Beneath The Neon Glow
CD | LP | DL | Cassette
Out 9th August 2024
PRE-ORDER HERE
Elles Bailey releases her fourth studio album, Beneath The Neon Glow, drawing on her eclectic range of influences from old school blues, roots, and outlaw country to soul, southern rock and dark gospel. With a sound which fully embraces Elles’ stunning vocal prowess, it proves to be another collection of deep and soul searching songs which have a truly uplifting quality befitting such a powerful and invigorating performer.
Elles Bailey has emerged as an artist who continues to defy genre categorisation due to her wide and eclectic range of influences which collide in such glorious fashion with her stunning husky vocal delivery which takes you right to the heart of Nashville. The Bristol-based singer, songwriter, musician and time-served road-warrior has so far released three studio albums (2017’s Wildfire, 2019’s Road I Call Home, 2022’s Shining In The Half Light) as a proudly independent artist through her own Outlaw Records, and the incredible soulful resonance that shines through her vocals has both captivated and enchanted all those who have seen her perform to date.
The success of Elles’ music and live performances have certainly not gone unnoticed by the music business with a whole raft of awards coming her way over recent years. These have included UK song of the Year 2020 at the Americana Awards UK, Album of the Year 2020 and 2023 at the UK Blues Awards, Artist and Live Act of the Year 2023 at the Americana Awards UK, Vocalist of the Year 2023 at the UK Blues Awards, and Artist of the Year 2020, 2021 and 2023 at the UK Blues Awards.
Inevitably, in any independent artists career with this degree of success and recognition, the demands placed upon them can sometimes overwhelm their creative energy and it was perhaps this that led to Elles turning to Cooking Vinyl towards the end of 2023 to support her cause. However, what is clear that this is a relationship that would not in any way compromise Elles artist ambitions as she explains, “I’ve had full creative control over this. One of the reasons why I really wanted to work with Cooking Vinyl is because it’s a partnership where I’m still saying what I want to say. They’re helping elevate that. Rather than that old style, ‘oh, she signed a record deal and she’s sold out.’ It’s really not like that in the slightest. They’re just enhancing the story that I want to tell.” And now Elles continues her story through her new album, Beneath The Neon Glow.
The album title is a reflection of Elles forthright honesty and self-awareness as a creative artist and performer, as she so eloquently describes, “I love this idea of neon glow. As an artist you’re always surrounded by lights. There’s always this haze around you. But I battled so much with impostor syndrome this last year. Listening to my voice, I’ve wanted to go back in and re-record all the vocals. I constantly don’t feel like I’m good enough… So that’s what Beneath the Neon Glow is for me: all these hidden things that you try to keep down and put in their place. It’s the chaos beneath what everyone else sees.” And what is most remarkable is how that ‘chaos’ translates into the captivating, soulful and emotionally charged songs that make up her new album.
Enjoy The Ride opens the album as a strong ode to positivity with its deep Americana vibes, shuffling beat and driving energy, all of which define the kind of sound Elles has made her very own in recent years. It was actually the last song Elles wrote for the album as she sat in her home studio with two of her longtime collaborators, Ash Tucker and Will Edmunds, searching for inspiration by spinning some of their favourite records. And as they reflected on the fact that Elles is asked so often about what advice to give to up and coming independent artists, the idea to put this into a song emerged.
As Elles explains, “the one thing I will say to people is you’ve got to enjoy the journey. Because there’s no destination. That’s exactly what someone said to me really early on. There’s no top dog in this. I’ve always used Taylor Swift as an example. She gets to be the biggest artist in the world, but that’s not good enough. She’s forever moving the goalposts in the industry. So that’s what this song is about. There’s no destination, just a journey and you’ve got to enjoy the journey. I’ve lived and breathed by that motto. When it all gets a bit too much, it’s still about making the most of opportunities that you have.”
Ballad Of A Broken Dream has a much darker energy drawn out by a much bluesier vocal which affords it a much greater sense of both resignation and emotional depth. Whilst presented in a more conventional rock style, it has a rousing chorus line with a vibrato in Elles vocals which alludes to some emotional scars which obviously have a resonance to personal experience. As Elles admits, “It’s not ever a story that I’m going to be able to tell. But there’s no denying that there is a connection between this musical creative path and the mental toll that it takes on you. So although it’s written about a very specific story, I could have written about any number of guys or women that you see playing in bars to nobody.”
Leave The Light On has a real anthemic quality and is Americana in its purest form with glorious melodies and a dazzling guitar solo in the closing stages. Again, the song presents an intimate insight into Elles own personal relationships and her life as a travelling musician as she continues to wear her heart on her sleeve. As Elles says, “this is an incredibly autobiographical open love letter to my husband. The track is inspired by me missing my train home from London and coming back really late at night expecting to be in a load of trouble as I had been away so much, but instead the light outside our house was on and that small gesture just felt so welcoming and supportive.”
1972 has a real sense of nostalgia referencing “Polaroid’s stuck on the fridge, Atlas maps open the dash for trips, Blue bell bottoms and platforms.” With its country-funk toe-tapping vibes it’s also a big shift in style, inspired by the desire to embrace the present moment with lines like “We always said we shoulda lived, Back when the things we love were hip.”
Silhouette In A Sunset changes the mood completely as its acoustic opening immediately sets a thoughtful and melancholy tone. But what follows is an emotional rollercoaster the likes of which I have rarely experienced through a song, with the pedal steel creating a deep and mournful sense of longing which is enhanced further when the key change kicks in. With a narrative exploring a heartfelt sense of reflection, this is a very special song which is not only one of my favourites this year but which represents a cornerstone for the album as a whole and sets a new very high bar for emotional ballads. Just stunning!
Truth Ain’t Gonna Save Us draws on the rich threads of country, folk and blues as it drives forward with electrifying guitar leads and a swirling organ with a narrative once again focused on heartbreak. The sense of resignation conveyed through the line “The truth ain’t gonna save us, But it will set us free” resonates so clearly through the beautiful phrasing in Elles vocals. This same theme of pain and anguish through a relationship breakdown carries right through Let It Burn which is another powerful tear-jerking ballad.
If This Is Love is riddled with strong bluesy chords and soulful harmonies which will really get your speakers humming, with Elles describing this one as “my sassy angry love song”. Once again focused on a broken heart, Elles describes the inspiration as follows, “this song is written about someone who trampled all over my heart and I totally lost who I was in the relationship. And if I am being honest, I never actually walked away, so I decided to re-write that story many years later, but this time I am the one who decides that enough is enough!”
Love Yourself finally conveys a more positive outlook as this gospel infused country song bounces cordially through much more elevated tones as Elles reassures us that “There ain’t nothing that you can’t be, First you gotta learn how to love, Learn how to love yourself.” But sure enough that positivity does not last long as Turn Off The News closes the album in simply stunning fashion. A slow, heartfelt and deeply moving ballad which so vividly conveys a real sense of guilt about the horrors which so often unfold in front of us when watching the news on TV.
Along with her core band comprising Joe Wilkins (guitar), Jonny Henderson (keyboards), Piano Matthew Jones (percussion/drums), and Matthew Waer (bass), Elles Bailey has produced an album of real honesty and self-awareness which reaches into the depths of her soul. And whilst it is full of heartbreak and raw emotion as it explores love’s myriad forms, it has that classic juxtaposition of having such an uplifting quality which is symptomatic of such a powerful and invigorating performer.
As Elles freely admits, “This album broke me apart and made me whole all at the same time and it’s been a real journey of discovery both melodically, lyrically, musically and personally with some of the songs written through some really dark moments and others during the highest of highs,” And as a singer-songwriter who draws inspiration from old school blues, roots, outlaw country, soul, southern rock and dark gospel, there is little doubt that Beneath The Neon Glow has all of these influences fused into one triumphant and cathartic melting pot of sound, with glorious melodies radiating through the swell of emotional turmoil. And with reference to the opening song on the album, it might well have been a bumpy ride but we sure as hell enjoyed the ride.
Following a series of album launch shows at record stores around the UK through August which you can find tickets for HERE, Elles Bailey and her band are heading out on a huge headline tour later this year with all dates as follows:
SEPTEMBER
25th LINCOLN, The Drill
26th NORWICH, Waterfront
27th CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction
28th OXFORD, O2 Academy 2
OCTOBER
Fri 11th CARLISLE, Carlisle Blues Festival
Sat 12th GLOUCESTER, Gloucester Guildhall
24th EXETER, Exeter Phoenix
26th BRISTOL, SWX
NOVEMBER
2nd LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall
3rd SOUTHAMPTON, Engine Rooms
14th SUNDERLAND, The Fire Station
15th EDINBURGH, Cabaret Voltaire
16th GLASGOW, Oran Mor
17th CHESTER, The Live Rooms
18th HEERLEN (Netherlands), Parkstad Limburg Theatres
19th OSS (Netherlands), Groene Engel
20th UTRECHT (Netherlands), Tivoli
30th WOLVERHAMPTON, KK’s Steel Mill
DECEMBER
1st LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
6th BELFAST, The Black Box
7th DUBLIN, The Workmans Club
You can buy tickets for Elles’ shows here.
You can pre-order the album here.
You can find Elles Bailey on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and her website.
~
All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.
We have a small favour to ask. Subscribe to Louder Than War and help keep the flame of independent music burning. Click the button below to see the extras you get!
