One time singer with Bellatrix, Eliza Newman returns with Change My Name, the first single to be taken from her solo album Empire Fall.
If you were to know that Eliza hails from Iceland, then you'd probably make an associative jump and expect this to sound something like Sigur Ros crossed with Bjork. Strangely, Change My Name doesn’t sound anything like the usual fare that comes from Iceland. Rather than ethereal soundscapes and vocals that drift and envelope like fog; Eliza trades in far more immediate sounds. This is essentially a cracking little indie pop single. There's a great little spiky guitar line that just keeps things simple while the drums drive things along in the manner of an incessant Motown beat. It's Eliza's vocals that shape the song however, switching back and forth between sultry indie nonchalance and wanton pop croon.
Return To Me is a complete change of pace and mood. Newman keeps things in a high vocal register as she coos over a mournful piano that is tangled in the wash of guitar effects and strings. The Icelandic influence is much closer to the surface here, but Return To Me is far from clichéd, it's simply a beautiful tune.
