• Band / Artist : Private Eleanor
• Genre : Folk / Rock / Pop
• Download : Seventeen
• Buy CD : Buy
• Buy Digital Download : N/A
• Rating : 8 out of 10

On the lighter side of melancholy, on the road to sunny days, is where you’ll find Private Eleanor. For anyone who likes a mainly acoustic sound, with infectious melodies, this is the CD for you. It’s almost like sitting inside, in front of your window, watching the rain and knowing the sun will soon be out. Yes I know how pretentious that all sounds, but I just can’t get that image out of my head.

The album starts with the short We Know better, which is probably my least favorite song on the album, but as it’s brief, the cracking song Seventeen gets to us all the quicker. This is probably my favorite track on the CD. From the excellent guitar accompaniment to the wonderful, understated piano. Other notable songs on the CD are Richmond, Estimated Distance and Forever’s Not a Word I Use.

I can’t help but compare most of the artists/bands I review with other artists/bands. This gives people a pretty quick idea of what to expect, but sometimes, what or who I think an artist/band sounds like, isn’t what everyone else thinks. Mind you some times a bit of controversy is good, to get people riled up. If I had to compare Private Eleanor to another band, it would have to be someone like Deacon Blue or maybe even Beautiful South. There’s even a slight hint of Simon and Garfunkel, which is always welcome.

This is a such a mellow album, that for me would have been so much better if the vocals were a bit stronger. I’m not sure if it’s the original recording or the mix of the album, but the vocals seem very muffled. This does detract slightly from an otherwise great album.

Conclusion : Even with my reservations, this is an excellent album, from a band I haven’t yet come across on the podcast scene, but hopefully I can change that.