Elle O’Bryan – Every Single One

Elle O’Bryan is the best! How can I so confidently say this, having never met her? Her music speaks for its self. As does the fact that she can talk about the cold war and human organs in the same sentence.

Elle is self described dork, with a major in math, so it makes her album that much more interesting. Fortunately for you, dear reader, that comes later. I get to talk about the lovely Ms. O’Bryan first.

She was born long (but not that long) ago, and has been playing guitar for half as long as that. Which is to say a really long time. However, Elle was not a musical wunderkind, her own mother was one to encourage her to not perform in school talent shows. Her mother was unsuccessful, because as we all know, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. There is no greater force on this planet than a child that’s just been told they shouldn’t do something.  So after many hours of singing along to Guns ‘n’ Roses, Elle experienced something… something… Magical! Practice actually does pay off! Like holy crap guys!

Now more than a decade later, Elle is awesome, just like her album, Every Single One.

For starters, it’s just her. No band. No backup singers. No bullshit. It’s interesting, raw and emotional, but at the same time it’s also the biggest weakness. (but more on that later!)

[GARD]

It’s about heartbreak, betrayal and cutting children out of wombs! No, it’s not a metal album. It’s an Irish-inspired, folksy beast. What sets Elle apart from the pack is her wonderful vocal style. Like seriously Wow, when Elle sent me her album she mentioned it was ” very Appalachian and Irish influenced”. I thought, “OK, never heard that before but,  cool.” then I listened to her sing and I was half expecting her to break out into Gaelic. It was great! Mostly because she defied my expectations and stuck with English. Sweet, sweet English. 

It’s kinda somber stuff, but that’s ok, everyone needs a little melancholy sometimes, right?

What I didn’t like was the fact that occasionally, Elle’s solo-ness (totally a word now) sometimes worked against her and some tracks felt a bit empty, but that’s ok because she’s totally looking for bandmates! YAY! Problem: Solved.

All in all Every Single One is great! You can totally buy it here, and here.

Check out Elle on Facebook, or on her website and stay tuned for more of her awesome self here at crazywickedawesome.com.