REVIEW: George Ellias - Self-Titled EP

Genre: Folk/Acoustic
Origin: Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles doesn't have too many folk acts coming around these days, but L.A. native George Ellias appears to want to be the exception. Why, you ask? It's hard to say. Folk can be troubled waters to tread since the wealth of that genre has always relied on underground sensibilities, retained to giving the average listener a second thought. It's not entirely something attainable in a city like Los Angeles where rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers and Silversun Pickups have a huge following.

But to George Ellias, folk is here to stay. It's understandable, too, that this notion Ellias charges at us with is very much the vision of an artist well-deep into his influences. That isn't to say he's purely imitating, but rather he is providing the music we once loved, a kind of nostalgia that seems to be recurring throughout current popular music such as 70's soul punchers Fitz and the Tantrums (an L.A. act, no less). Perhaps that is key to the possible success of his niche and, of course, timing. Timing is everything.

We get his first foray into the music world with his self-titled EP, which does a pretty good job of giving us a glimpse into certain possibilities of ol' folk. Reinvigorating the days of Bob Dylan with spot-on lyrical playfulness and guitar-picking intricacy, he's able to withstand that sound without being generic. Lyrically, he benefits from relying on messages that spark the same kind of interests of Dylan's followers and possibly even today's listeners. The song "Ghost Town" insinuates the lost lifestyles of old, which is perhaps a summation of what folk is all about in the first place. Kudos to that.

The rest of the EP steers its course in a similar vein, even if they play off as more of a showcase than a concept. We get the somber "A Farewell Song" and we get a lively "Stand Ashore," and we get these tracks as merely accepting Ellias' talents. If that is the thread that defines the EP, it can appear somewhat flat, but this reviewer is willing to find that his pros outweigh this small issue.

The EP mostly stays in tune for its seven tracks (six if you don't include the outtake of "Wonder Babe"), varying in terms of "quality." Songs like "Stand Ashore" and "Take My Advice" have a more "produced" approach, while songs like "Wonder Babe" and "A Farewell Song" are of lower fidelity. Either way, the use of reverb gives each song a very live, acoustic feel, and his track placement is finely interweaved as to not make the overall sound become counterbalanced.

Ellias gives a fine number of songs to link us to fonder days. As this is only his first EP, one can only imagine what his full-length will consist of, but this EP provides us with enough optimism. Each song brings us closer to classic folk, and whether or not that is Ellias' prerogative, he's managed to make us feel good about it.

Check out two tracks from the EP, and if you like what you hear, make sure to visit Amazon, iTunes, or George Ellias' Bandcamp webpage.





George Ellias' EP is available now from End & Co. Records.

Friday's End Note: Favorite Double Albums

A band has two choices: they either put out an album of as many songs as they can or an album whose songs form a cohesive whole. This is pretty standard protocol (I would assume), but what happens when bands have more material than can fit on one album or have more songs that help to develop a bigger concept? They create what's called a "double album," an epic amount of music from a band that usually implies a major push for creative power and oftentimes a sign of a band hitting a dramatic peak.

The only real qualification I consider for an album to be "double" is that it comes with two CD's, not LP's. You could technically have two LP's and have the album simply continue onto the other record, but "double albums" usually have full albums separate from each other, either in tonality or lyrical effect. This also means that I do not include "Greatest Hits" albums or collections because that denotes a collection that was most likely not chosen by the artist themselves.

Here are my few favorite double albums:

The Beatles - The Beatles (aka "The White Album")

What does it take to be the biggest band on the face of the planet? Not much if you've already established yourself as The Beatles. The release of The Beatles in 1968 didn't have to capitalize on any of their material prior other than being a double-dose of epic but challenging songs that document the turbulence of the band as well as the culture clash of the 60's. In that regard, both discs contain levels of both loud guitar spectacles and softer balladry, and it makes for an experience rather than an extraction.




The Beatles - "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

Perhaps the most seminal recording from the master folk artist, Blonde on Blonde really feels like the first tried and true double album. It provides us with some of Dylan's most unique and deep-felt recordings like "Just Like A Woman" and "Fourth Time Around" that offer glimpses of both sides of the soul that make folk so enticing. It takes our generalizations of what acoustic guitar can do and bends it further, bringing together Dylan's lyrical expertise to new ground.





Bob Dylan - "I Want You"


Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin had the early 1970's. Hands down. They took Rock 'N Roll and Blues to places people probably only imagined in their darkest desires. After five hugely successful albums, Physical Graffiti landed and only continued their streak. Every song is in the land of Zeppelin, if a bit more casual that usual, and we're along for the ride cruising down Route 66. It's a fine dose of rock that's unprecedented.






Led Zeppelin - "Trampled Under Foot"

Pink Floyd - The Wall

Pink Floyd's The Wall is a rock opera for the ages. It's also the turning point in Floyd's deep history that began a slow and sure departure of rock greats Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Regardless of the inner struggle, The Wall is so politically punchy and rigid that the songs often fall through the cracks of "the wall" and become stirring masterpieces. It's an experience of epic proportions, maybe a little too much for the time it was released, but it remains one of the most important records in my listening history.



Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb"


Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

We jump ahead to the mid-90's for this shoe-gazing wonder. The Smashing Pumpkins have delved into this kind of territory before, but as a double album, they were able to provide a fully-fleshed spread of emotions. We had a rock record that wasn't so much rock but an escape to the heavens, catapulting the band into the popular conscious forever. Tracks get better with every listen, and it's hard to deny the zest that their signature sound adds to make the whole thing sweeter.





Smashing Pumpkins - "Muzzle"


-DJ

In Case of the Mondays: George Ellias and Indie Folk

Bob Dylan had the surprising knack for writing lyrics that were so eloquently literary and from the heart that when he paired up his writing style with his simplistic guitar and harmonica, a new chord was struck that hit the world known as folk. That was back during a time when pop culture set itself aside and the independence and freedom to express was in full swing. Folk music was now just as rampant as rock and roll, and all for the better.

Now flashing forward to 2011, L.A bound George Ellias attempts to bring Dylan's style back to the masses with his new indie folk EP called Wanderlust, and it's just as righteously sound. He conjures up a type of nostalgia on tracks such as "Wonder Babe" and "Stand Ashore," hearkening back to tracks easily found in catalogs of Dylan or even Woody Guthrie. Their influences are deeply rooted in Ellias' own creations, and it's a good feeling knowing that a lot can be said from such simplicity amidst the gargantuan labels of today's current music scene. It's just what you need for those types of Mondays.

Check out "Stand Ashore" below as well as the rest of Wanderlust EP at the George Ellias Bandcamp webpage or on iTunes.