As the New Year dawned, it did not cross
my mind that I'd missed anything major off my 'Best Of...' list. Sure,
it was a struggle to cut down, let alone order. But, I thought, there aren't any glaring omissions....of course, I was completely wrong about that.
In April 2011 Elena Tonra released the
first of two EPs, 'His Young Heart', then, in November accompanied by
Remi Aguilella on drums she released a second four-track EP, 'The Wild
Youth'. Both EPs are hauntingly beautiful, Elena's voice softly murmurs
out detailed stories. On 'Landfill' she begs to be left on the train
tracks, in the rain, thrown in a landfill, covered by snow or left at
the altar. The simplicity of her writing is part of its charm, these
descriptions of abandonment surround the crucial line of the song,
widely applicable but feeling like a revelation of her darkest secret as
she whispers "this is dangerous 'cause I want you so much but I hate
your guts".
Both EPs are prime examples of how
successful that format can be. Four songs long, each song a fairly
average length with mostly one-word titles - if you chose to, you could
listen to them together (as I normally do which is why I said album in
the title), but there's no need to. Elena Tonra's gentle guitar plucking
and husky voice are likely to become a key part of the music I'll
listen to in 2012.
Listen to the EPs on Soundcloud or purchase from Bandcamp.
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