Lost To A Coastline CD - Ellanora DellErba

Ellanora's debut LP, Lost To A Coastline, is a soulfully folk-flavored Americana album, brimming with stories of lost love, lessons learned, taking the higher road, and remaining hopeful despite intense life struggles. The evocative title references a love lost to a geographic running away. On a metaphorical level, the title connotes the dangers of global warming and other environmental disasters—lands lost to a coastline. The songs on the album are instantly familiar—good friends during dark times. They’re edgy, earthy, and elegant; gracefully adorned with lonesome pedal steel, haunting ambiance, and stately fiddle flourishes. At the center of it all is Ellanora’s tasteful guitar accompaniment and her sensually expressive vocals, spanning soft honeyed tones and richly expressive, full-voiced soul.  

Lost to a Coastline was engineered by Craig Schumacher who’s previously worked with Calexico, Devotchka, Neko Case, The Jayhawks, Amos Lee, and Iron & Wine. Standout selections include: the sweetly ominous “Highway Grass,” the lyrics stinging with sadness, especially the passage: Nothing but highway grass / It’s all understood, there’s nothing that I could have done / To find you; the dark but comforting “Starsong,” a live-show favorite, featuring layers of mesmerizing lead and harmony vocals and profound lines such as I didn’t pray for a lighter load, just a stronger back; and “Little Dreamer,” a heartland rocker that recalls the feel-good and let-loose side of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. The album’s title track exudes a sweet melancholy, replete with a minor-key folk aesthetic and achingly beautiful vocals. Ellanora’s lyrics are vulnerable and visceral here, one soul-searching passage reads: Pride makes you stumble / Gentle green eyes stay humble / Love takes time and you ran away from mine / but I gave it all the way didn't I?