Elise Leavy's breezy Laurel Canyon-tinged music belies her depth as a songwriter. On A Little Longer, Leavy's first major solo artistic statement, she deftly explores nostalgia and melancholy over ten tracks that wash over the listener like a gentle ocean tide. Indeed, the record's sound hearkens to an era when the SoCal sound dominated the FM dial. Now a resident of Bellingham, WA, this collection of songs was written while Leavy was living in Boston and New York. However, it's clear that growing up on California's central coast was foundational to Leavy's songwriting.
Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, and recently was selected as a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition. Since graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music at the tender age of 19, she has taken to the road, armed with her father’s first guitar, a wry sense of humor and a startlingly cohesive and masterful tone to her writing. Take note because this young artist has arrived as a songwriting force.
Memorandum
https://doodleev.bandcamp.com/album/memorandum
A word from Elise on ‘Memorandum’:
"This is a group of recordings I made over a span of almost four years. Most of the recordings were made at home, ‘unprofessionally’, and were recorded the day I wrote the song. I wanted people to hear these songs in their most true form, which is always the day I wrote them, when I couldn't stop playing them, basking in the magic of a new song. My hope is to share this glorious magic that I experience when writing a song with my listeners."
“A LITTLE LONGER”
On A Little Longer, Leavy's first major solo artistic statement, she deftly explores nostalgia and melancholy over ten tracks that wash over the listener like a gentle ocean tide. Indeed, the record's sound hearkens to an era when the SoCal sound dominated the FM dial. Lush mid-1970s production courtesy of Robin MacMillian shows up in the horns on "Cigarettes and Coffee" or the pedal steel on "I Have Been Trying." Expansive vocal harmonies permeate "Please Don't Ask Me To Be Friends" or "I Won't Be Dreaming Anymore" which reference everything from Motown to The Beach Boys.
Listen Here!
Interviews:
Unkempt with Ashton York / Full Circle with Elise Leavy
https://www.ashtonanny.com/podcast-1/episode/7c8be928/full-circle-with-elise-leavy
Basic Folk Podcast: Elise Leavy is the Faerie Kid of Folk, ep. 247
The Bluegrass Situation
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