Music Review: Eliza Rush, ‘This Side of Heaven’
The new EP showcases the Pennsylvania-based artist’s enchanting voice and magical rhythms and melodies.
Eliza Rush, This Side of Heaven EP artwork.
Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Eliza Rush’s melodies irresistibly skip and leap, jumping in and out of moments of layered harmonies and lush production. Her lithe, precise, and spritely voice runs ahead, turning back to beckon the listener forward through each of the six songs on her new EP This Side of Heaven.
One gorgeous example is the release in the chorus of “Beautifully Broken” where time slows and the melody magically floats. The track is a combination of ethereal and haunting with moments of sail and light all leading to the wide open vulnerability of the lyric, “I’m not perfect, but I do what I can.”
Throughout the EP, the guitar lines dazzle, especially in the light grit and whine in the guitar tone on the song “Stagger.” This tone is a satisfying foil to Rush’s rich, honest voice. The two sounds play off of one another in a way that lifts both.
Eliza Rush. Photo courtesy of the artist.
The EP is filled with quick stops and rhythmic shifts that are easily danceable while remaining true to Rush’s wise lyrical prowess.
Nowhere is this more true than in the title track. The stutter step of the doubled guitar strum nestles easily inside the drive of the kick/snare combination. There’s a satisfying wisdom in the push and pull between the two rhythms. The hard break at the end of the chorus gives the proper emphasis to the refrain, “this side of heaven.”
The production, the enticing and driving rhythms, the lyrical acumen, and the decadent harmonies are all just a supporting cast to the quality of Eliza Rush’s entrancing voice. You deserve the moments that are contained within This Side of Heaven. Take a listen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doyle Turner. Photo credit: no_aesthetic_stills.
Doyle Turner loves words. Whether it is shaping syllables into songs, poems, early morning journals, handwritten thank yous, lists, or album reviews, he is in a deep and abiding relationship with his college-ruled paper, Uniball Signo 207 .7mm pens, and mostly his keyboard. A good day is spent taking pictures, mailing things, making the words convey the precise meaning, driving, and singing.
