DOVE ELLIS - Blizzard

Originally from the west of Ireland and now based in legendary Manchester, noticed by critics after a show at London's Windmill, and eventually recruited by American act Geese as the opening act on the recent tour in support of their celebrated album "Getting Killed", Dove Ellis is this year's late-breaking discovery, and his debut album "Blizzard" is yet another December release we'll be forced to weigh up for our end-of-year lists.

Following a 2024 EP, "To The Sandals", the Irish musician's debut arrives with no press release to speak of; Dove Ellis also seems reluctant to give interviews and has apparently already turned down major-label deals. The record, in fact, isn't available in physical format and was made at home (with the help of no fewer than eight musicians) on a rudimentary four-track recorder, before being polished up by Andrew Sarlo (the producer known for his work with Big Thief).

The Galway musician's name has spread among insiders thanks to a handful of shows and word of mouth, which allowed him to sell out tickets for his most recent London gig within an hour.

Much ado about nothing? This time William Shakespeare can rest easy: "Blizzard" is a striking record, easy enough to sum up in broad strokes, yet disarming in the beauty and quality of its songwriting.

Both a blessing and a curse, Dove Ellis's falsetto is the first thing you notice, and while Thom Yorke, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and Bon Iver are the most obvious touchstones ("Heaven Has No Wings"), this time you can also hear traces of Tim Buckley's phrasing. The Irishman's songs are graced not only by an impressive vocal command (the extraordinary "Love Is") but also by Ellis's skill in shaping the arc of his compositions, alternating fragility and emotional outburst, introspection and rage ("Pale Song").

There's a risk that some of the names mentioned above might mislead the listener: "Blizzard" isn't a collection of easy songs - lovable, sure, but decidedly dense - it's more accurate to call it folk, or neo-folk if you prefer, though Ellis's music has the merit of resisting any single reading, whether acoustic, rock, or even pop.

The most convincing calling card is undoubtedly "Fearther, Cash", a noir ballad built on a melancholy waltz beat that wouldn't sound out of place coming from Tom Waits, though the role of the project's centerpiece falls to the opening "Little Left Hope", where an interplay of cello and sax stirs up a track with the folk swagger of Paul Simon and the choral harmonies of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Amid a run of emotionally powerful songs, Dove Ellis also makes room for a spry folk number halfway between the Pogues and klezmer music ("Jaunice") and for an uptempo track that fires off harmonic shifts in search of a poignant grandeur, flirting with rock before turning into raw gospel (the already-mentioned "Heaven Has No Wings").

"Blizzard" is a collection of unusual instincts that, in the end, almost feels ordinary - but that's a slight deception: the slow-motion, Radiohead-tinged jangle-pop of "Pale Song", the Irish-folk bustle of "Love Is" and the blues crescendo of "When You Tie Your Hair Up" - which unfolds into a jam session lining up Tim and Jeff Buckley (father and son, no less) - are more than enough to file Ellis's album away as a small songwriting gem (I'll skip the lyrics here to avoid running long, though they'd deserve a whole analysis of their own).

In truth, when the more folk-leaning, reflective side takes over, the musician's qualities shine through even more strongly. Ambitious, complex, deep and professionally flawless, "Blizzard" doles out folk songs with a soul-funk soul ("It's A Blizzard"), conjures up disorienting duets between acoustic guitar and sax over a backdrop of distorted synths for one of the most touching songs about lost love ("To The Sandals"), and brings down the curtain with a ballad that, behind its fragile fingerpicking chords, hides a fiery soul ("Away You Stride") - one last plea to be heard, a painful emotional coming out that tears at the heart with an artistic force and honesty whose echo will stay with us for the whole year to come.

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02/01/2026