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Elliot Minor have been creating waves on the music
scene for nearly a year now, the band released their
debut single 'Parallel Worlds' on the 9th April
2007 and the single gave the band their first chart
hit, debuting at number 31 in the UK top 40 singles
chart, this also put Elliot Minor on the map and
a whole lot of hype surrounded this, the band then
headed off to New York to work with producer Jim
Wirt who has produced albums for Incubus, Hoobastank
and many others before in the past. Taking time
out from making the album Elliot Minor went on to
tour around the country many times, selling out
all the toilet sized venues around the country as
well as playing shows at Download festival and some
big support slots across the country.
The debut album by Elliot Minor has been delayed
many times due to the band signing to Warner Bros
Records and wanting to spend as long as possible
to perfect their sound and album. During the wait
for the album the band have already released as
many singles as an average band would release
during an albums life span, this seems like an
odd move but at the same time it's kept people
remembering Elliot Minor whilst waiting for the
album. The bands debut album is finally here but
does it live up to the hype and expectations?
The self titled debut album by Elliot Minor starts
off with 'Time After Time', the song is hugely
impressive and such a strong opening track, the
band members are well educated and classically
trained musicians and you really notice it here,
the backing orchestral sound here is pretty outstanding
and duel vocals from Alex Davies and Ed Minton
is outstanding, especially when Ed's vocals come
in for the first time, the backing vocals also
work really well, the song has an overall tight
sound, a sound that continues to run throughout
the album.
Most people by now would of heard 'Parallel Worlds',
the band released the song on the 9th April 2007
and have also just re-released it on the 7th April
2008 pretty much a year on from the original release
date. Now the song was the first song I ever heard
from Elliot Minor and I was hooked on it after
just a couple of listens, the song is a really
infectious poppy number that opens with a really
outstanding keyboard piece that seems to take
the back seat running in the background throughout
the song, the duel vocals are fast and catchy
and the overall instrumental work is spot on with
so many different styles of music being played
throughout the song, 'Parallel Worlds' is the
song that started off the Elliot Minor hype and
it’s good to see the song featured on the
album.
One of my favourite tracks on the album is '
The White One Is Evil', the song was released
as a single back in October 2007, the song hit
the charts at number 27 but to be honest I never
really took much notice of it once it was released
but since listening to it on the album I have
realised what a great song it is. The song is
full of passion and energy, it starts off with
a really poppy sing a long introduction, but then
suddenly the music style slightly changes sounding
like some really big moment from a movie soundtrack
where the instruments have a big sound and the
vocals sound more serious with the whole poppy
vibe lost.
The weakest moment on the album is 'Jessica'
the band released this as a single not to long
after they released 'Parallel Worlds', the song
is extremely catchy like you would expect from
an Elliot Minor release but seems to sound quite
similar to 'Parallel Worlds' which is mainly due
to the piano work running throughout the song,
the song’s still quite listenable but it’s
quite ‘samey’ and repetitive at the
same time and is a route I hope Elliot Minor don’t
go down anytime soon.
If you like in your face, fast paced poppy music
then you will love 'Still Figuring Out', the band
also released this as a single back at the start
of the year, the song is the catchiest release
Elliot Minor have released to date, it’s
just so fast and poppy and has one of the best
chorus's I have heard in a long time.
You are probably wondering if the rest of the
album is actually any good as every song I have
talked about until now has been a single release
apart from the opening track of the album, well
your worries can be laid to rest now as the whole
album is well written and well produced everything
sounds big and tight giving Elliot Minor a sound
of a band that has been going for many years.
Songs such as 'The Liar Is You' and 'The Broken
Mirror' are a lot more chilled out in the poppy
way than the bands singles and really rely on
orchestral sounds and this works really well giving
off a really huge orchestra feel, the vocals start
sounding more serious and stronger than ever.
If Elliot Minor can get away with releasing another
single from an album they have already released
4 singles and 1 re-release from then I would put
money on the single being 'Running Away'. The
song is a classic, it’s so catchy but in
a totally different way than the bands previous
single releases have been catchy, the chorus is
huge.
The album finishes with 'Last Call To New York
City', the song is the longest running track on
the album running for just over 6 minutes, the
song is really stripped down from the rest of
the album but is full of loud orchestral moments
and the vocals really stick out and shine and
the movie like outro of big fire works sound to
me that Elliot Minor are really proud of their
debut offering.
So the wait is finally over and the debut album
from Elliot Minor is here and in all honestly
the album is simply amazing, the band have created
11 great tracks, some that sound quite similar
to other tracks on the album and some that sound
totally different than what else is on offer,
but the most outstanding part of the album is
the fact that Elliot Minor have mastered many
different sounds, there are many moments of classical
music, their are some big rocking moments, some
extremely poppy moments and some really chilled
out moments and Elliot Minor have mastered playing
each and every one of these sounds in their own
way.
If you have been waiting for the album since
you first heard 'Parallel Worlds' then seriously
don’t hold off buying it, go out and get
it now as you seriously won’t be dissapointed.
If you have been hiding under a rock and are yet
to hear anything by Elliot Minor but really like
poppy music with really infectious choruses then
also head out and get this album as it’s
a stunning debut.
5/5
Review by Trigger |
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| Band
Members |
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Alex Davies (vocals, guitar)
Ed Minton (vocals, guitar)
Dan Hetherton (drums, backing vocals)
Ali Paul (keyboard)
Ed Hetherton (bass) |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Time After Time
2. Parallel Worlds
3. White One Is Evil
4. Liar Is You
5. Lucky Star
6. Jessica
7. Broken Minor
8. Still Figuring Out
9. Silently
10. Running Away
11. Last Call To New York |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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