Go Down – Eli Lev (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Groove is more than the sum of its parts and Go Down is the perfect lesson in this fact. Yes, there is enough pop and sass in the bass line, enough swing in the beat and more than enough space between allowing these to pervade and mix perfectly without stepping on each others toes, but it is more than that too. It is the sultry flow, the understated guitars, the southern breeze that flits through (even smarter considering that the band are from Washington DC) and just something that hangs in the air between the notes, beats and lyrics.

Okay, its Americana, in this case a blend of folk and blues, gospel undertones and a suppleness and subtly, eloquence and elegance which only comes together this effortlessly when assembled by those with that country’s blood in its veins and dirt on its boots.

The charm here is Eli Lev’s ability to write concise, memorable rolling riffs, his skill at knowing how to thread the bare minimum together to great effect and create a sound built on sparse beats, spare yet pulsing bass lines and killer vocal deliveries. He also appears to write songs which, without intentionally aiming for the commercial market, are often as addictive, groovesome and rug cuttingly contagious as anything deliberately trying to play that game. Lev just does it at half the speed with a quarter of the beats and a fraction of the notes and still comes out a clear winner.