Pittsburgh native, now Nashville-based Drew Elliott’s latest single is as varied as his origin. “Conversations” blends deep and metaphorical singer-songwriter lyrics with a psychedelic vibe.
By alternating between the CP70 and the MS2000 monosynth, Elliott creates a reverberating swirl of sounds to support his dreamy, ethereal vocals.
“It all feels so strange/ You wanted change,” the chorus opens. Almost meta-commentary about his musical evolution, but more literally about the song’s exploration of the strangeness of routine and things unsaid.
Lyrics like “She’ll have the gin and tonic again” and “your running coffee cup left forgotten on the countertop” establish the consistency that the characters in this story hide behind. “She can’t turn away and say goodbye,” the chorus ends with a melancholy held note.
Moving from the external to the internal, the internal monologue underpinning the bridge separates itself further from the narrative with sparkling arpeggios and shimmering high notes.
The evolution of the sonic space feels both natural and yet with the same strangeness of the routines Drew Elliott has been railing against.
As the music builds and crescendos, it suddenly starts to fade out. In denying the listener the climactic resolution, we’re left experiencing those same things left unsaid in the routine—a perfectly appropriate ending to a mesmerizing song.
Stream “Conversations” below.
Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
