There is a little bit of confusion to resolve here. Larry Toering previously reviewed an album by an artist named "Elska." That's not the same person as this artist, and in fact, that's not a real person. It turns out it's a character created by a duo from Brooklyn.

This Elska is a very real person who hails from the Minneapolis area. I previously reviewed the opening track of this set in a various artists collection. This album could almost fit under the progressive rock heading as "art rock." Ultimately I decided to put it under non-prog, though, because I think the non-art music elements are the dominant ones. What you can count on here, though, are deep lyrical content, intriguing songwriting and arrangements and strong vocal performances. This is really quite a potent release. Given that it's the debut from this artist, it bodes well for great things to come.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021  Volume 2. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

There is a dramatic build-up at the start of this tune. It drops back to mellower, roots-based sound from there. Vocals join in a gentle way over the top. The cut gets more powered up at times. It really has some lush, art rock type sounds and textures at points. I previously reviewed this as part of a various artists set and said this about it, " There is a soaring alternative beauty to this number. It is one of the strongest and most effective cuts here." That holds true here, too.

Piano is a big part of the arrangement as this gets underway. The vocals enter in a gentle way. This gets dramatic and more intense, but doesn't move too far from its origins.

There is a soaring, building concept at the heart of this number It does have a lot of emotion and some dramatic proggy elements, but it also has plenty pop styled texture.

I like the electronic elements of this, but at its core this is more of a mainstream pop rock piece. The lyrics are pretty deep.