Trying to capitalise on the recent wave of pop-slanted-folk that’s been welcomed by the British public, Ellen and the Escapades have released a four track EP.
Opening track, ‘Preying On Your Mind’, can be heard on either of Amy MacDonald’s albums – it’s a song we’ve all heard a million times before. Don’t get me wrong, I love Amy MacDonald but this is all getting a bit repetitive. Ellen, the lead vocalist, sounds a bit like a rough Dolly Parton.
Music like this is suited better to Laura Marling, Allie Moss or Lisa Mitchell, with their cutesy vocals wrapping around acoustic tracks – not butching them up with gruff drones, wavering under the strain of impersonation.
Anyway, ‘Yours To Keep’ is possibly the best track on the EP. Ellen actually sings and it’s quite beautiful in front of and echoey guitar riff that rounds the song off nicely.
The EP finishes off with ‘Coming Back Home’, a song with startling parallels to Amy MacDonald’s ‘The Road to Home’. Coincidence? I think not. The song itself is fairly bland but does build up into a pretty wee melody.
