Review: ‘Shining in the Half Light’ – Elles Bailey

Elles Bailey is nominated for UK Americana Artist of the Year at this years award ceremony and with her latest offering you can understand why. Straddling both the Blues and Americana worlds, Bailey is an innovative artist and true entertainer who crafts songs that are bound to capture your heart.

The cohesive, sparkling light of the new album is the addition of gospel style backing vocals that allow her songs to explore new heights. From the opening track, ‘Cheats And Liars’ to the closing, title track, it is full of stellar songwriting. ‘Cheats And Liars’ introduces us to the sonic feel of the record, and it’s a powerful opening. There is an eeriness to the track, particularly in the chorus, the production is well thought out – purposeful – every note designed to complement the overall feel of the track. You can imagine this being a crowd pleaser at a festival, keeping the audience rooted to the spot.

The standout track for me is ‘Sunshine City’ the slide guitar and Bailey’s vocal lines working well together, what sounds like a Hammond B3 a constant throughout keeps it rooted. The blues meets rock n roll on this track, Bailey’s strong vocals the cherry on top of the musical cake.

Bailey’s previous work has been award winning and put her firmly on the map but despite this, this record lets her continue on the trajectory of her career and it may be her strongest to date.