Elliot Minor‘s debut 2008 album wasn’t received without criticism. While it sold incredibly well and gained the York quintet a fair amount of mainstream attention, critics panned it as a shallow record overtly catering for young teens – one review even called it ‘Harry Potter-esque’. In a way, it’s a fitting moniker – everything was a bit too over the top, a bit too theatrical. ‘Solaris’, the band’s second album proper still has a sense of urgency and theatre about it, but it is – and please excuse the cliché, but it’s the most fitting description – a bit more grown up.
What is obvious on ‘Solaris’, is that Elliot Minor, as poppy and sugar-sweet as they may be, can write fantastic songs. Classically-trained frontman Alex Davies has the knowledge and ability to write and arrange music brilliantly, as the likes of ‘Tethered’ and ‘Carry On‘ show. Among the thick, choral harmonies and the minor chords, the signature piano that weaves in and out of every song gives the whole record a sense of completeness and continuity that wasn’t as strong in the band’s debut.
Most importantly, the massive orchestral presence that the ‘Minor displayed with their first record is still here, though it’s lost its sense of ridiculousness. ‘Coming Home’ and ‘Shiver’ are heavily doused in strings but stop before things get out of control, while ‘All Along’ shows the band can be just as balanced at the other end of the spectrum.
Ultimately, ‘Solaris’ is not going to change the minds everyone who wrote off Elliot Minor the first time round. While it may display a new-found maturity on the band’s part, it’s still unlikely to appeal to people far over the drinking age. However it shows they’re well deserving of a second chance, and at times, ‘Solaris’ is a bloody great piece of work.
Andy R