Album Review: Elle King – Love Stuff
3 min read
Singer/songwriter Elle King has been all over the joint with her music, she’s had a small handful of her songs synced for television shows and advertisements, but that only gives one a tiny window of a glance into her growing world; with her powerfully driven knack for belting out a decent blues/rock/soul/pop track, it was no wonder her debut EP The Elle King EP was released to high critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base. Still young in her mid-twenties, Elle has plenty of time to continue impressing the world with her music, and she plans on doing just that with her debut album; Love Stuff.
Elle gets right to it, Where The Devil Don’t Go begins with her sharply sweet vocal, hand claps give us the initial gist of the beat and the arrangement does all the rest; the gritty guitars and melody delivers a catchy melody and a strong example of King’s ability to write and record a neat country/rock infusion track. Elle’s single Ex’s & Oh’s is a track that is easily enjoyable throughout every second; it’s everything you want from a lead single, it’s catchy and it sells what the album is about, it’s not easy to get out of your head and would be great for television. Under The Influence is not as upbeat as its predecessors, but it still fits so well on this album with King’s rough melody and soulful performance; so far there has been nothing on the album as explosive as the addictive Last Damn Night, Elle is proving to be one of the strongest vocalists we’ve seen emerge for a little while.
The banjo takes control in Kocaine Karolina, a soothing ode to the girl who let her spirit slip away; there’s a great hook to Song of Sorrow, as heavy hearted as the lyrics are it would make a great single. Country infused pop leads to the conception of America’s Sweetheart, where King sings about how she’s not the girl you should be falling for; I Told You I Was Mean is straight to the point about a relationship that would never go anywhere, but is delivered so sweetly. Elle’s flawless poetry shines through Ain’t Gonna Drown, she doesn’t need a vamped up arrangement to tell her stories, even as the chorus is sung louder it only drives the message home; Jackson is introduced by the subtle grittiness of the guitar, the vocals come in and the instrumentation reveals itself, another enjoyable number. Make You Smile is that cliche love song you find on most albums, it’s corny but your heart can’t help but melt; See You Again is a nice and easy going tune to finish the album, allowing us to hear more of Elle’s more soothing vocal work.
Elle King is a star, there can not be any doubt about that after you give Love Stuff a good and hard listen; there are so many sonically versatile qualities to the singer, she can easily go between the rough grittiness of country to the lulling trill of a folk singing songbird, long sentence short King is a talent. Love Stuff is an open book, Elle is not afraid to let the world know what she’s about, nor does she hold back lyrically when she’s addressing those who have crossed her or have had a significant impact on her personal life; it’s great to hear less cliched written tracks, replaced by personal pieces that tell a story and relive an experience. This is merely the beginning for Elle King, with her debut album now under her belt, she seems capable of anything; we can’t wait to hear more from this girl.
