LISTEN: Elanor Moss - 'Mary'

"... you don't have to be alone, I'm always by the phone" 

It's no secret that I'm a little in love with Elanor Moss - her tender vocals and relatable songwriting have made for a string of beautiful singles over the past year or so. Following up last year's Citrus EP, she's just released new EP Cosmic and final track Mary. It's a plea to a loved one, 'imploring them to find and accept the same help that Moss is learning to accept from others', and makes a perfect final track for the EP, bringing together another stunning collection of tracks from Elanor.

Discussing the new track, Elanor shares "Mary is a song about looking after your friends. Loneliness and depression can creep in like a dense fog that separates you from people you love; this is a song about trying to reach and comfort a friend when they're in that place. It's a place I've been to plenty, so I understand it! We're not alone, and that's the message I wanted to ring the EP out with. I wrote it with my friend Josh Finn; I had nearly finished it and couldn't get a second verse so I sent it over and he sent back the whole second verse as it is now. He's brilliant!"

Elanor Moss · Mary

If you like what you're hearing, you can catch Elanor on her first headline UK tour starting in March - tickets are available here.

23rd March: Rough Trade, Bristol

24th: St. Pancras Old Church, London

25th: Upstairs at Whelans, Dublin

28th: The Fly Tower at Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield

29th: YES (The Basement), Manchester

30th: The Poetry Club SWG3, Glasgow

31st: NCEM, York 

1st April: Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds

Follow Elanor Moss - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Elanor Moss - 'Catholic'

2023 has officially begun (you're welcome). The first tracks have arrived on the annual blog playlists (here and here), and if I do say so myself... they're sounding reaaaally good. There was little doubt as to what would open up the first playlist update of the year, as I've had this one on repeat for the past week. With her second EP Cosmic on the way in February, Elanor Moss just released Catholic from it and I am a little bit in love. I'm under the weather (again! aaagh!) so I'll let Elanor and the track do the talking on this one... 

About the song, Elanor shares: "Catholic isn't truly a song about being Catholic, or leaving the Catholic church... not really. It's a song about grappling with your identity and realising you've relied on validation from others most of your life, whether that's friends, family, or romantic partners. It's also about realising you have the power to change and doing that. It's cathartic to play and sing live, and I felt like I was tapping into something new in my writing. We tried recording it a bunch of different ways; acoustically, more lounge-y, slower... it didn't feel right until it was big and loud. It was an interesting moment for me in my writing and sound. I wanted to be loud for once and see what it was like to be in an indie-rock band. I love it."

Follow Elanor Moss - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Elanor Moss - 'Cosmic Memory'

Slightly bewildering to think that the last gig I went to was in June (the lovely Memorial) - a show at which Elanor Moss was opening and was in beaaaaautiful form. Like, really good. Ridiculously talented, of course, but also a brilliant stage presence. With me just about getting over her debut EP Citrus, she's just announced the sequel, Cosmic, which is releasing via Blue Raincoat Music on 23rd February. The news arrives with the first taste of the EP, Cosmic Memory, Elanor's first full-band production. The marriage of Elanor's vocals and those strings... agh. Too good.

"'Cosmic' came after a year of exploration for me. I'd just moved to London, and was experimenting with different styles lyrically and musically, writing with friends for the first time, and visiting New York to work with my friend Oli Deakin on the new record. For the first time in my creative life I felt the freedom to be playful and experimental in the writing process, foraging for different ways to express complex feelings. Before, I was in the thick of a feeling without much perspective, this time I've embraced an approach of 'sometimes all you can do is laugh at yourself.' It's been a liberating rabbit hole to go down."

Follow Elanor Moss - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Elanor Moss & Bess Atwell - 'Sober (Again)'

Dreamy collaboration time. About a month ago, I caught Elanor Moss supporting Memorial in London. A couple of weeks prior to that, Bess Atwell opening for Bear's Den. Both are incredible songwriters and artists in their own right... imagine my delight to find that they were releasing a collaboration! The track is Sober (Again) - a re-worked version of a track from Elanor's Citrus EP. As expected, it is bloody lovely. Brb, off to beg a promoter to stick these two on a line-up together so that I can hear this live. 

On the collaboration, Elanor said: "I've been a fan of Bess' since she released her brilliant debut album last year. When Oli Deakin sent me the strings he'd arranged for our alternate version I knew her smoky, nostalgic voice would be the perfect fit. Then when we reached out and she said yes I was thrilled! Getting her flavour on it was really special. She nailed the delivery and really got into the character and sentiment of the song." 

Bess adds: "I hadn't heard Elanor's music until Lucy (Rose) put me in touch with her about a possible collaboration, but having Lucy's endorsement meant I knew I'd soon be a fan. Elanor is a stunning lyricist and singer so it was a privilege to get to contribute vocals to this beautiful track. I chose Sober because I was struck by its simplicity, and the moving, intuitive melody."

Follow Elanor Moss - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Bess Atwell - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Elanor Moss - 'Soundings'

Psssst, it's brand new music time - sharing a debut single today which might just stop you in your tracks. Soundings is the first offering from Elanor Moss's Citrus EP, just announced. Originally from Lincolnshire, Elanor lived between York & Leeds while studying her undergraduate degree in Medieval Literature. It was in these four years that this body of work came to be, written through her late teens and early twenties and taking on influences from Elanor's life and studies. 

The first track sits around the concept of 'taking soundings' to measure the depth of a body of water. On the track, she shares: "Soundings is essentially about relying on substance abuse to drown out depression and trauma. How easy it is to slip into that. Contrary to the dark narrative, I wanted there to be a catharsis and playfulness to the melodies and delivery, and a melodrama too. I wanted to capture that feeling of total self-indulgence that can come with wanting to escape in your low moments. There's a self-awareness in the narrator's need to disappear into a haze; you know it's unhealthy but you do it anyway."  

The Citrus EP is set for release via Blue Raincoat Music (Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers) and was co-produced with Brooklyn producer Oli Deakin (CMAT, Ed Nash, Benjamin Francis Leftwich). Keep an eye out for more info...

Follow Elanor Moss - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.