Last year I witnessed a wonderful live performance by a large group of musicians which surprised and delighted me. The band was Ella Guru and their sound and style was reminiscent of one of my favourite bands,Low. But there was distinction and originality from a band that seemed not too bothered by stardom or hype. Earlier this year I received Ella Guru’s SONGS FROM LIVERPOOL E.P. which was enchanting and very beautiful. The promise of a full debut album later in year excited me – an uncommon occurrence in this rather mediocre and homogenous UK music market.

It was worth the wait. THE FIRST ALBUM is an enchanting delight and will no doubt figure in our best albums of 2004 later this year. The album opens with the glacial Noisy Insects (which is anything but) and one of the most sincere, quiet close-mic vocals you’ll ever hear. The stripped-down instrumental backdrop is perfection and the song is superlative. A folk ambience pervades They Called For Us which is more upbeat with the most delicate instrumental touches and a strong melody. The next track, Augustus Golden, opens with scraping guitar chords and features one of the most fragile female backing vocals I’ve ever heard.

Track after track here mesmerises like few records I’ve heard and there’s a compelling quality to the whispered but clear vocals. The band’s lyrics are intelligent and moving with a supreme example in the epic song, Oh God. “I shelter from the storm inside me” is a beautiful and telling line in a song that grows in pace with crescendos made in heaven. The band has a tight handle on originality exemplified by the stunning and very different Wonderful, and several other songs in this 13 track collection. Base Is The Spine is a delightful spoken word piece from a voice that sounds eerily similar to that of Johnny Cash. The album finishes on a secret track taken from the band’s E.P. called On A Beach which is superb.

Originality, subtlety, sincerity and skill are rare artistic commodities. Ella Guru possess a full-hand, and this is an album that everyone should own. Essential.

5/5