Short Reviews [Elfin Bow and Gary Lloyd - 2018 - "Who Knows Where the Time Goes"]

UK artist ELFIN BOW is a fairly recent addition to the music scene in the UK from what I understand, and released her debut album back in 2017. A production that appears to have caught the attention of quite a few people, and among them the fine people at UK label Fruits de Mer Records. Hence Elfin Bow have now been added to the list of artists that have released music on this label, in this case a two track single spearheaded by the track 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes', and this production was released in December of 2018. I understand that this A side is a Sandy Denny cover, but it would appear that this track has been given something of a makeover. Opening as a melancholic, tranquil and ethereal twilight mood folk melody, the song transforms into a darker, more ominous affair when the orchestration starts taking over the song, then seguing into a more chaotic and arguably subtly more uplifting finale. Many of the same characteristics can be stated for the second son of this single, 'The Wisdom'. More delicate, tranquil and ethereal at the start, but with dark symphonic undercurrents adding a tension and contrasting darkness to this song that gives it a strong identity. Elfin Bow singer Elizabeth has a fine voice that fits material of this kind, and I rather guess that she goes down a storm when performing more careful, singer/songwriter type of material with a folk-oriented sound as well. A solid production by a talented artist for sure, and elevated to a higher level due to the orchestration arrangements of Gary Lloyd, which adds that strong and distinct nerve and tension that makes the total experience a more tension-filled one, and due to that also a more appealing one. If acoustic folk music given an orchestral makeover sounds like a good thing, this is a single worth tracking down.