EP Review: Ellen and the Escapades - Of All The Times (Self Release)

Ellen and the Escapades have had quite a year so far, not least for their triumphant win at this year's Emerging Talent competition held before amongst others, the Eavis family and Q Magazine in Glastonbury. With Ellen Smith's instantly recognisable voice, together with her tight band of musicians, all ready and rearing to go off on their first UK tour, this EP constitutes an essential piece of merchandising, to make sure their growing army of fans have something good to take home with them over the next few weeks. It's even available as a 10" vinyl collectors item.

With a couple of single releases already out there, Without You from 2009 and Coming Back Home from earlier this year, OF ALL THE TIMES steps up the race towards their full blown album release planned for some time in 2011. The four songs included here range from the re-recorded Preying On Your Mind, this time utilising the same band as before but upping the tempo so to speak in a sort of Graceland-like method of cheerfulness, to the bluesy Yours To Keep, a direction this reviewer would particularly like to see Ellen and Co go in. The last single Coming Back Home has been tagged onto the end of this EP, which also includes the gorgeous This Ace I've Burned, providing no finer demonstration of Ellen's unique voice.

With Jeff Schneider on guitar, Chris Quick on keyboards, James Warrender on drums and Andy Calder on bass, Ellen and the Escapades have already played a number of high profile festivals this summer including the Glastonbury Festival, prompting Michael Eavis to declare that this band are better than Joni Mitchell. Whilst such declarations force artists into a state of either chronic embarrassment or uncomfortable spasms of nervousness, if they are taken in the manner in which they were intended, the band will no doubt be highly flattered. Eavis is right though, there is something quite fresh and listenable to Ellen's voice and by the end of these four selections, you will no doubt want more.

Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky