A lush sonic landscape, where the accompanying music and Elliott's voice follow one another through tales of travel, kinship, and of the characters passed along the way.

10 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, ROCK: Folk Rock



Details:
In his first full length album since his debut album, The Doorman (2005), Will Elliott appears to be hitting his stride. Almost immediately, Elliott's songwriting ushers Beat This Horse into a lush sonic landscape, where the accompanying music and Elliott's voice follow one another through tales of travel, kinship, and of the characters passed along the way. As they progress, the songs translate the sentiment of a wayfarer's journal, Elliott makes concise observations on the world around him.

After recording A Devil's Drought at John Axtell's Signalhouse recording studio, Will returned again for Beat This Horse album. Elliott is joined as always by guitarist J. Clay Koweek, and Michael John Serpe adds bass as well as the design for the packaging. Also aided by rising star, Andrew Collberg plays drums, as well as producing the record.

The generally stripped down Will Elliott sound here is fleshed out with additional guitars, brushed drums, and, in places, what could be a logging camp choir. Vicki Brown contributes viola to several tracks, and Al Perry makes a guest appearance playing electric guitar. At the center of it all is Elliott's voice, which has been captured at times at its most refined points, varying between a full holler and a soft and sweet hush. When combined with Koweek's guitar, the two create a lyrical core that stands at the center of an endearing and fully-formed sound, justified in hinting at timeless American musical ideals.

Since coming to Tucson, Will has made quite a name for himself in a town that is no stranger to superior songwriting. Word about his music has grown steadily and spread rapidly throughout the city. Subsequently, he has played in just about every major venue in the area and a few minor venues as well, all to great critical reviews and kind words. After the release 2006's A Devil's Drought, Will won the Tucson Weeklyâs Critics Choice Award for Best Song Writer, amongst the competition of Joey Burns (Calexico) and Howe Gelb.