Elis - Ain't No Safety Ground

Elis

Ain't No Safety Ground
self-released; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

At only twenty-one years of age Eliana Fernández is showing some serious potential on her recent release Ain't No Safety Ground. Despite being so young she still has eight years of experience playing music. She started at the age of thirteen and by fifteen was already writing her own songs.

On her band Elis’ most recent release Ain't No Safety Ground Fernández displays solid skills as singer/songwriter and guitarist. She has a number of members including Andrés Martín (guitar & vocals), Gabriel Giordano (bass & vocals), Alan Rubinoff (keyboards) and Marcel Birnfeld (drums) who helped in the creation of the album.

The songs all fit under the umbrella of pop but Fernández likes to dabble in a number of genres such as rock, doo-wop and even jazz. She starts off the album with a rocker entitled “Dying.” The first thing that stuck out to me was her accent which was thoroughly enjoyable and not something you hear everyday. On top of that the song was well constructed and the instrumental parts were quite effective. The song contains distorted guitars, organs, bass and drums but make no doubt about it - her vocal is the element that carries the song.

The second track “The Shelves” contains some subdued funk and soul. The melodies are sweet and easy to enjoy. Fernández displays lyrical maturity you don’t expect from someone her age. She sings, “When there’s too much wondering, you’re nearer to death Things have lose their taste, the only thing real is the smell of your hair.”

One of the highlights was “Beware.” The song feels as light as a breeze and the guitar work is exceptional and smooth. It was at this point that the essence of her music was getting more ingrained into my consciousness.

“Conversation” is a lush, emotionally resonant song that contains little more than bass, organ and vocals. It almost feels like it has religious overtones. Ironically, the most upbeat and lively song is entitled “Worried” while the closer “Anxiety” showcases a thin sounding guitar and intimate vocals.

Ain't No Safety Ground is versatile without feeling disconnected. All the songs are good and a couple of them are great. Fernández is certainly a talent and at twenty-one she still has a lot of musical growth to go through.

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