There’s a theory that says if you mix every colour in the spectrum then together they form a sort of grey colour. If applying this sort of reasoning to Elite, a female singer/songer who intends to blend a variety of different influences (Air, Beck, Daft Punk, Blondie, The Cardigans and Morcheeba, apparently), then there is an unsettling possibility that she’ll sound like Dido. The argument against this is not helped by her involvement in co-writing songs for Faithless.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking; you’re envisaging a table used to hold coffee on, most probably from Ikea. But such thoughts are banished as soon as first track ‘I’ve Seen The Light’ jumps into action with a guitar line not a million miles away from the Bunnymen’s ‘The Cutter’ that later mimics the sound of a Doctor Who prop malfunctioning. Elite’s voice is also a key factor in the music, with its breathy but vibrant tone lilting over the top of the rocky terrain. Second track ‘Where Is My Love?’ fulfils that Daft Punk comparison with the beats displaying some hallmarks of recent European disco/house and the echo effect suitably smothered over the vocals.
Surely there’s a catch somewhere? Ah yes, the third track 'Here I Am', which with its laid-back brushing of percussion probably has Elite singing with Bjork in mind, but ends up in the region of… oh, go on then, Dido. She might one day be playing in a Lexus near you, but by the strength of this release she shouldn’t yet be cast off as another musical coaster.
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6Thomas Blatchford's Score