Elise Leavy - A Little Longer

Elise Leavy's breezy Laurel Canyon-tinged music belies her depth as a songwriter. On A Little Longer, Leavy's first major solo artistic statement, she deftly explores nostalgia and melancholy over ten tracks that wash over the listener like a gentle ocean tide. Indeed, the record's sound harkens to an era when the SoCal sound dominated the FM dial. Now a resident of Lafayette, LA, this collection of songs was written while Leavy was living in Boston and New York. However, it's clear that growing up on California's central coast was foundational to Leavy's songwriting. Lush mid-1970s production courtesy of Robin MacMillian shows up in the horns on "Cigarettes and Coffee" or the pedal steel on "I Have Been Trying." Expansive vocal harmonies permeate "Please Don't Ask Me To Be Friends" or "I Won't Be Dreaming Anymore" which reference everything from Motown to The Beach Boys. Experienced as a whole, A Little Longer is startlingly cohesive and masterful in tone and writing. Take note because this young artist has arrived as a songwriting force.