Victoria-based Bluesman Mike Elrington has released his ninth album ‘Aftershock’ and it’s one that could cement itself as one of the front runners for Australian Blues & Roots Album of the Year, consisting of twelve-tracks of high quality and with Elrington daring to experiment with varying genres at times, you could be fooled into raising your eyebrows but it works so well and adds to the albums attraction. Written & fueled by the break-up of his marriage, Elrington has used his pain & heartbreak to create a body of work that people going through similar life changes can relate to and this is immediately evident in many of the song titles.
You could almost be fooled into thinking the opener ‘Everything To Everyone’ is an instrumental track, such is its mystical musical undertones which build in energy all the while Elrington sings almost chant-like, “I Can’t Be, I Won’t Be, Ever Again”. ‘It Still Burns’ begins with a wonderfully clean acoustic lick that is overlaid with Mike’s gritty vocals before picking up to be a real up-tempo number. ‘Broken’ has a real southern feel with its bluesy opening with Elrington admitting to this being one the early songs he tackled during his writing & healing process.
‘There Is A Light’ is simply stunning – warm acoustic blues with a message of hope to those suffering and battling against the odds. ‘She Don’t Want Nobody to Love’ is a clever ‘his view/her view’ style duet with friend June Harrison, as the two trade perspectives of the failing relationship and its extremely catchy chorus hooks you in immediately.
Elrington explained during our interview that ‘The Mirror’ was the first song he wrote when waking on the first morning of a trip to Nashville back in 2007 – it oozes class with its subtle keys & harmonica in the background, as it builds to become one of the stand-outs on this collection. The first single to be released earlier this year, ‘She’s On My Mind Again’ has an immediately memorable distorted riff on this more rockier of tracks, before we are taken to Elrington’s most ambitious and daring song of the album, ‘Don’t Give Me A Dime’. Mike has blended a blues structure with hip-hop and initially you could be guilty of not giving it a chance, but it works & works extremely well, featuring rappers Where Is Leroy and Maelstrom.
Another of the slower album tracks ‘Only In Your Eyes’ builds to an almost orchestral crescendo and is a tale of love at first sight. ‘Walk It With You’ lifts us back up with its dance-like beat and tempo, before Elrington’s brush with an almost Middle Eastern sound on ‘Dirty Death’. We close with ‘Fly Away’ which is an acoustic gem and as you draw breath and look back over the twelve tracks, it gives you a sense of feeling of the emotional journey we all face at one time or another, that feeling of heartbreak.
Mike Elrington chose to document his heartbreak through song and use it, not only to share with others in an open & frank way but to help heal his shattered emotions. ‘Aftershock’ is an incredibly honest album and one that is extremely enjoyable. Australian Blues continues to sit in a very good place and ‘Aftershock’ helps strengthen this country’s standing in the World of Blues.
8.5/10
TRACKLIST
Everything to Everyone
It Still Burns
Broken
There Is A Light
She Don’t Want Nobody To Love
The Mirror
She’s On My Mind Again
Don’t Give Me A Dime
Only In Your Eyes
Walk It With You
Dirty Death
Fly Away
