EP Review : Jack and Ella – Ready
Despite being relative newcomers to the UK country music scene, Jack and Ella have been favourites of ours since they began, having featured and interviewed the duo already. On Monday they release their debut EP ‘Ready’.
The opening song is the title track and this first number has an immediate impact – there is no slow intro here, its straight into the action, with their great vocals and guitar work launching the EP on a high. This first song is actually something of a surprise, it’s a lot rockier than you might expect from a male/female duo, with a fantastic guitar solo during the song. For an opener that really grabs you, this is hard to top. Below you can see an acoustic session version of the song.
The EP continues with ‘Nowhere to Be’. This song opens with the duo singing to each other about being content in their ‘own little world’. My favourite part of this song is the infectious chorus and this just builds and builds to the end of the song, and strangely for a country song, it seems to have a happy ending!
Track three is ‘Hometown’ and this is an another impact track. The song is an interesting one about travelling the world with that someone special and name checks some great locations throughout the song, including an American trip that took in Nashville, Miami and Denver. Despite the locations throughout the song, the real message is about being back in their ‘hometown’ and how being with that right person is the most important thing. This is the best track on the EP for me, arranged brilliantly, great vocals and a song that you’ll certainly want to turn up.
The EP finishes with an acoustic version of ‘Hometown’ which is a really nice touch. This stripped down version of the song has a different feel to the previous version, a little mellower and shows a different side to Jack and Ella’s talent.
For a debut EP, this is a great start from the London based duo. This is country music with a nice rock edge to it, while I like the way they share the vocals by singing parts of the song each, giving them an original feel. ‘Hometown’ is a real highlight (so good, we hear it twice!) and if this EP is anything to go on, it looks like Jack and Ella have a fine future ahead of them!
Download the EP here on Monday!
