Robert Ellis
Yesterday’s News
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Videos by American Songwriter
Robert Ellis takes a decidedly subdued approach on Yesterday’s News, a somewhat surprising turn considering the rowdier persona he parlayed on his last album, Texas Piano Man (2019). Nevertheless, a lot has changed over the course of the past four years, so it’s not surprising that Ellis would take the time to ruminate and reflect. Relying solely on his trademark parched vocals and solo acoustic guitar accompaniment, these songs reveal a certain vulnerability, one that concedes the fact that lately, many matters seem beyond the ability to determine one’s destiny. Close your eyes and drift into a dream, he sings in the song “Close Your Eyes.” You’re closer than it seems if you could just give up control. He also admits that he doesn’t have all the answers. I don’t even know what to say, he declares on the opening track titled “Gene.”
Granted, Ellis is giving in to the obvious, and it’s a somewhat harrowing scenario, to say the least. Yet it’s that sense of yearning and desire that sweeps through each of these hushed and evocative compositions, readily bringing to mind such obvious influences as Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, and Richard Thompson, given the pensive yet pervasive point of view. So too, certain songs—“Close Your Eyes” in particular—carry a jazzy nocturnal cadence, accompanied by a gentle sway and sashay. The album’s instrumentals—a brief interlude that comes in the form of the “Wait” reprise and the delicate strains of “Open Your Eyes”—further underscore that atmospheric aura.
Ultimately, Yesterday’s News is an album that basks in quiet contemplation. It’s a reminder that if indeed the past is behind us, it can still haunt us with matters that are yet to be resolved. There’s subtlety in simplicity, and Ellis, being the skilled singer/songwriter he is, knows how to utilize those qualities both effectively and assuredly. Yesterday’s News is a mesmerizing offering and, one might say, even revelatory as a result.
Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage
