Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
There are moments in life in which to treasure something is to accept that eventually it can no longer be yours; that eventually you have to either let it breathe and run on its own so that it can thrill others or you put it in a dark vault, you lock it away forever and let it slide, damaged, unloved and gasping for air, into obscurity.
It is the decent and right thing to do to let the hazards of artistic jeopardy fall where they must for how else does Grace & Danger go hand in hand, how else must an album be understood to thrive and breathe its possible majesty into others. For Nick Ellis, the simple fact is that music is arguably all consuming, the sound of the acoustics driving the musician to the point of near ecstasy and the listener to the arena of risking a night of pure abandon and the unsteady nerves of the day, the frayed ends of 21st Century living, melting away into nothing.
It is in that appreciation of relaxing, in the spirit of the carefree and loved that Grace & Danger thrives, the musician almost effortlessly turns the handle of surprise and well being and if the listener doesn’t tune in properly, they are in danger of not realising the subtle craft of menace that hangs underneath each wonderfully played out song.
In tracks such as Electric Blue High Heels, the music garners the full flow of possibilities, it adds peril to the scene and the scenic and the hint of feminine beauty, those things that separate the sexes are brought into focus, that whilst men believe themselves to be all knowing and powerful, truly it is women who run the world and it is a glorious realisation that the song makes the listener think on that.
With songs such as the cool She Moved Through The Morning, A Walk Through The City, the stunning opener of The Grand Illusion and the subtle refrain of Cooler Than Cupid all leaving their mark on Time and the listener, Nick Ellis comfortably allows the songs to live free in the open air and hearts of those who take time to hear them; there is no locked door, no bolt, no illusion, just simplicity and the risk of falling in love in evidence.
Ian D. Hall