In an oversaturated landscape of DIY guitar music, it is rare to come across an artist who dares to do something different. In this instance, this artist comes in the shape of meg elsier, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and visual artist. She has come roaring out of seemingly nowhere, armed with an album containing impressively accomplished tracks, showing just how visionary an artist she is.
After previewing moments within the album, elsier unleashed her debut record back in June 2024. In the artist’s words; the album covers, “love, death, nostalgia, youth, anxiety, depression and everything in between, with a uniquely self-deprecating touch”. This last thing is what stands out to me the most. Although it does deal with heavy topics, spittake never falls deep into the abyss of misery. Whether it’s down to the song titles, kept whimsical as their original demo names, or elsier’s sweetly teetering vocals over mountainous soundscapes, spittake never feels like hard work. More likely, however, it is down to the sheer scope of sound present on the record. It spans everything between raw acoustic numbers, to doomgaze-tinged dream-pop, by way of Planning For Burial and Vyva Melinkolya.
The title track was kept in demo form, speaking “to the raw, untempered nature of the project as a whole”. ‘isnotreal’ is an enormous grunge-gaze track; the guitars are buzzy and heavy; the drums are glacial in heft and tempo; elsier’s voice carries the track however, confidently taking it towards it’s collapsing climax. ‘ifshitfuq’, the project’s debut single, is an accomplished piece of glorious alternative indie-rock – there’s no wonder it was added to multiple Spotify editorial playlists upon release. ‘oldnews’ is a personal highlight, with bass so squelchy and drums that twist and splash, it’s a moment of real experimentation on the record – just so much fun. ‘forlyleinsanfrancisco’ rivals the emotional rock of Mitski’s, Bury Me At Makeout Creek, a song that builds and builds towards its finale, feeling it pass through your very body.
Closing track, ‘LA’ is the perfect ending to this winding tale of loud atmospheres and emotional grit. There are moments of ambience in the soundscape, a wave of scuzz that ebbs and flows. It is as much a menacing track as it is beautiful. It is slow and understated, bearing resemblance to the more powerful moments of heaven-metal pioneer, Midwife. It is a testament to meg elsier’s ambition for spittake. Where it would be simpler to remain within one sound, the album traverses an entire list of influences and moods, in turn creating something spectacular. spittake is a glorious album, one that I believe will cement meg elsier as an inspiration to take risks, not only in music but in life.
Written by Callum Foulds
