Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The beauty of art that is emotionally charged is in its power to take you to the Edge Of The World before pulling back from the precipice and showing you that life is more than existence and suffering, nor is it a futile act of resistance, it is a glory to be lived boldly and with every fibre of your being.
The much-admired actor/singer songwriter Tawny Ellis brings her sixth studio album, co-produced by her husband and long time collaborator Gio Loria, Edge Of The World, and the resulting effect after five years away from the public eye is one of a sense of purity, of objective pursuit and a subtly of re-emerging spirit; a positive resurfacing, energised truth to which the artist has been lauded for throughout her career.
To be overtly forthcoming in your desire to bring art that doesn’t just reflect your place in the world, or your opinions and passions, but utterly convinces those in search of light that there is more to come, that emotions and purpose will see you through even the darkest of nights and the rocks that separate one side of the world to the crevices below.
Utilising a superb guest list, including Tim Hanseroth, Kaveh Rastegar, Joshua Ray Gooch, Daniel Lanois, and Corey McCormick, Tawny Ellis brings a sound to the ears of the listener that may appear at first to be comfortable or even charming, but which through the sheer dynamic of songs such as Sweet Georgia, Bottom Line, Flicker Of The Flame, Terry, and the final track of the album Night Birds reveals itself to be one of deep introspection, of tackling the dark places, the voids of time and experimenting with unseen themes and the soul’s reaction to them.
Life is a story, some chapters resonate harder with the mind because the images hit home with an urgent response, others flow with gentle ideas, of shifting patterns and textures feeling for a reaction that responds in kind, of harmony and embracing warmth, and like all good stories they meld and mix freely as they reveal truth and certainty.
These lavish tones and harmonies are charged with humanity, the softness of a peaceful day, the rawness of a thunderstorm overhead, they are result of being taken to the Edge Of The World and being saved from the uncertainty below.
Time can become meaningless when what we produce out of sight of the public gaze is beautiful; it matters in the end very little where you were during this time, all that matters is what you reveal afterwards.
Ian D. Hall