Blackbirds

This deeply descriptive and transparently heartfelt album opens with 'Old Car,' a simple, catchy tune which does a great job of establishing the mood of the whole album. Beautiful, but not overpowering harmonies accompany Eliot's piercing lyrics and solid folk guitar performance. Tracks like 'If You Need to Be Free' and 'Everywhere I Go' offer a more mainstream folk-rock feel while crisp tunes like 'This Song' and 'Annabel Avenue' hit home hard for songwriters and fans of pure, acoustic music. 'Black-Eyed Susan,' a song drawing from the writer's roots in Baltimore, was the stand-out hit of the album for me and carves a sound honed and owned uniquely by Eliot Bronson. This album and Eliot himself help to keep the tradition of folk music alive, well, and relevant to audiences of all ages. Despite his break from the acclaimed duo, The Brilliant Inventions, this album exemplifies the unparalleled songwriting and emotional vocal performance that lets fans rest easy knowing Eliot will be just fine.

There are songwriters, and then there are those among them that I would call “a songwriter’s songwriter.” Eliot Bronson is one of those. His new CD “Blackbirds” is his first solo record since the break-up of The Brilliant Inventions, and it seems as though his work has only become more heartfelt, more touching, more poetic, and more universal. Eliot’s musicality shines through in every song from the swelling melodies to the enchanting harmonies. Each song moves along at its individual pace, and they fit together to make the rhythm of the whole CD drive like a smooth scenic train ride of emotions and reflections. But his lyrics are what will get to you in songs such as “Annabel Avenue” which takes you back in time to those tender memories we all have of growing up in America. “Black Eyed Susan” is a particularly descriptive and a stick-with-you kind of song about home and Baltimore that has a great pulse. Rarely do CD’s present 9 songs worthy of buying the whole CD but “Old Car” and “Merry Christmas” are songs that make you HAVE to buy the record--if only for them. “Old Car” is raw and Springsteen'esque. It’s as simple and as perfect as a song gets. And “Merry Christmas” speaks to the heart of anyone who calls himself a human. “Blackbirds” is one of those records people will seek to find after the artist becomes famous!