After an eight-month hiatus, Elroy Love quietly published a new single this month. The release hints at a new artistic and emotional headspace for the three-piece. The song, aptly titled “Bleed on Me,” is still formed with Georgia clay and dried in the Tennessee sun like their first album “Glitch Cowboy,” but it feels decidedly more weighted.
The song fades in with milky guitar tunes familiar to Elroy Love, and is followed up by the gentle quake of lead singer Thomas Young’s voice. It is neatly padded all around, but is grounded nicely by the unassuming and disciplined drumming of John Ewing. Even while operating in the outfield, Ewing provides much-needed structure to the track and a backdrop for Young’s guitar.
Elroy Love waits over two minutes for the chorus, but the tempo pick-up orchestrated by subtle high-hat play gives the gentlest rush of blood to the melody. Young’s story reaches its conclusion in the chorus. He ruminates on themes of faded relationships and the difficulty of rekindling vulnerability. He attempts to manage self-alienation and a general sense of detachment — “these days I can’t even keep in touch with myself” — by helping others through their own trials, from “miss[ing] your mama” to “drug problem[s].” Perhaps Young is trying to substitute a “12-pack” with a different kind of catharsis, one which could ultimately be an act of self-annihilation.
The release is therapeutic for both band and listener, and as such, it exchanges the playfulness of songs like “5 AM” and “Fourth of July” with a somber and sobered distance. The single feels like it was crafted while laying in bed alone — it balances keen awareness with a sleepy sense of serene powerlessness and resignation. It is a testament to Elroy Love’s relentless introspection and is a mature step in the right direction for the three-piece.
The release can be streamed on the group’s Bandcamp.
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