This latest quartet of songs from Ellie Walker, which goes under the name The Balance, proves to be a neat collection of songs evoking both modern indie-folk and the classic sound of that singer-songwriter golden age, which blossomed just as the sixties were subsumed by the seventies.
That the songs are piano-led puts you in mind of the likes of Carole King, but there is often a folky finesse that leans more into the world of Joni Mitchell. And I suggest that anyone making music who can pick up just one of those references in a review is doing something right. So to evoke both, well…
The title track opens the EP, a jaunty, joyous tune with reflective, thoughtful lyrics about the art of compromise and understanding in a relationship. But it is “The Old Oak,” which follows, which really takes your breath away. It’s a gentle ballad, but it is that space that allows us to appreciate Walker’s subtle yet sensational vocals, never showy, always hitting the mark, understatedly awesome.
“Let Me Go” sits somewhere between the two, a balance (pun intended) of restraint and dynamic smarts, a bitter-sweet, philosophically mature break-up song swathed in heavenly harmonies, and “One Day” rounds things off in a deft and delicate dreamscape that wraps around the listener like the arms of the imagined lover she sings about.
If those references I came in with were the epitome of seventies singer-songwriting, Ellie Walker feels like its 2025 equivalent. The Balance ticks all the right boxes for charm and songwriting penmanship, accessibility, and longevity that those now iconic artists did, but she channels it through the trappings of modern indie-folk-pop.
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