Eli Lev is a storyteller. These stories will pull you forward and backward in time, upward and downward in emotion, with a beautiful sense of humanity throughout. Everything from the sound samples in the opening track to the final chords of the last track all show a deep sense of our common ancestry, our common humanity.
“Echo” is the opener, a delicate acoustic folk song with atmospheric elements. The guitar serves as a hypnotic and cathartic energy, allowing the lyrics to convey a message of “worlds gone by.” It’s a beautiful introduction to the main themes of the album, rooted in the immigrant experience of the United States. There’s a real sense of how things were different in the past and just how nice we have it now.
“Where We Come From” is another acoustic track that highlights Eli Lev’s vocal chops a bit more. It’s a bit of a Ben Rector style narrative, which I adore. The history teacher in me also loves this concept. It’s the track that made me say “yes” to the album and I am definitely a bigger fan with each listen. It’s the story of labor, life, love, and the people who make our background. The narrative weaves together different stories, seemingly both “sides” of the artist’s family. It’s irresistibly charming.
“My Wish Was You” is more of a romantic song. It’s a wish, a hope to meet someone special. I think it works nicely in conjunction with “Who I Was,” a self-reflective track about the heroes that made the artist in those early days. Both of these tracks are aspirational, the way we all hope for something bigger than ourselves. Yet again, the songwriter incorporates the oral history excerpts to show how these aspirations contrast with the hard life of the artist’s family. It’s a really beautiful piece of artwork and it comes together really well.
The final track “Our Friends” has a gentle approachability to it that really caps off the album well. The vocal is almost spoken on this one, inviting the listener to lean in and listen closely. There’s a charming vulnerability to the way the song comes together focuses on friends, the important people who shape us, even when they’re not regularly involved in our lives. I feel like this is an anthem for midlife, these times when it’s nearly impossible to connect with our friends in meaningful ways, but we still love them.
Eli Lev combines two songwriter styles that I adore in Ben Rector with a dash of Jeremy Messersmith’s easy delivery. The combination is endearing, inspirational, and a real treat. I’m so glad that Eli sent us this album and I really hope you all will spin it in October when it becomes available. It’s a special work of art.
https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0rzOT8WAnU1IgAMGcS8k5L?si=fbb8af58ce4040a8
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