Ring the bell for the last call as Elles Bailey digs deep. Prepare for a ride that takes on a darker tone than usual.

EVOLUTION

Much water has passed under the bridge since we watched an impressively sequinned and hugely excitable Elles Bailey cavorting around Cropredy back in 2024. She’s moved on from touting the Beneath The Neon Glow album, as her new songs see a shift with a new bunch of musicians on board -the usual live band will be back in place come touring time. Significantly, the lyrical focus turns the spotlight inward and squarely on ‘the journey’.

I guess the story – the one that can’t be taken away – is about evolution. 2026 being the right time to take a look and have the confidence to lay bare some deeper emotions. Then delve into eleven tracks that form the album that Elles, to used a tried and tested but highly relevant cliche,  has been destined to make.

A record crafted over three years, the set provides both an honest and vulnerable glimpse into the Bailey story. Some songs might have their origins some 10 years back – and there’s a line for enquiry in itself. The result is  Elles’ life placed carefully together to form an absorbing story.

SPARKLE FREE-ISH

The clues are there. The cover image presents significantly less of the neon glow where we were encouraged to ‘enjoy the ride’. Yes, slightly less sparkly yet balanced with dashes of Soul and emotive eulogising.

The opening line is telling. “I can’t put pen to paper without scaring myself off the page.” Blame, lies, empty dreams and loss of self belief sees the tone set, accompanied by a swell of rich brass and a strong determination as Elles powers through the title track. Like Springsteen in his own Better Days said, “it’s a sad man, my friend, who’s livin’ in his own skin and can’t stand the company.” Buckle up, as Elles seeks our the rays of hope and light hinted at in the R’n’B swing in her Better Days.

And while Growing Roots would be right at place in a Dublin pub backed by The Commitments, Blessed takes the tempo right down. Late nite cabaret with aching fiddle, distant shimmer of organ and Sgt Pepper strings at the business end as Elles sings how “you know what a mess this is, that God truly blessed me with.” Then there’s the angst of Constant Need To Keep Going. The latter on first hearing, confirmed on repeat, is a key / fave track. One that fits the bill of ‘worth the price of admission alone’. Brooding and low key without the need for an uplifting middle end or crescendo. The reliance on a simple tick-tock tempo and distant texture, should we need a nudge, emphasises how this is a brave record of cathartic outpouring.

BALANCE

Redressing the balance, we need the blast of Take A Step Back to shake off the reverie. A necessary injection of lightness and swing. A balance that Elles has described as “like a kind of light has found its way in, even in some of the darkest moments.” Indeed, How Do You Do It is treated to an arrangement with real jug band fun.

The four song finale that follows with a pleasing run of single word titles, shifts from Latino grooves (is that the spirit of Carlos Santana or Nile Rodgers in there or what?) to gravel voiced piano balladry. The climax of Starling is another less is more example of how the stark and sparse works for Elles Bailey, yet it’s hard to resist the slow build to a powerful crescendo. It might have taken a challenging deep dive into the psyche, but the confrontation is worth it. We all know of the notion of how the finest art comes from difficult places, acknowledged on Tightrope where she sings”The harder you hurt, the brighter you burn.”

How empowering it feels that there’s no compromise – this is how it is. An album of candid disclosure that maybe explains the lineup of musicians separate from her live band. Another telling move that provides the strength and conviction to expose “some of the hardest chapters of my story, yet there’s a feeling of joy threaded through every note.” Hallelujah amen to that.

Here’s Better Days:

Elles Bailey: Website 

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