Elle King Proves Her Influence In The Pop Arena

If you liked Elle King's "Ex's & Oh's" you're in for a treat. She knows how to lay it on over a sumptuous '80s styled hard rock power ballad arrangement. "Under The Influence" has this ability to work its way into your bloodstream, one deliberate vocal vamp at a time. You'll recall "Ex's & Oh's" had bounce, overstimulated kitty cat bounce. Here Elle wants you to taste the agony she's going through. If Daddy Rob Schneider isn't jazzed by her versatility of tone I don't know what else she has to do to prove she's got slow roasted pipes that ignite embers in all the right places. As you might expect, the theme on display is one's behavior under the influence, only here we're talking about a man's love being the spell caster. It's to Elle's credit that she is willing to take the consequence, breathe her last breath under the influence of the man's kiss. Oh how the temptation burns, creeps up on her, haunts her days and robs her of precious sleep. Here's an addiction she doesn't want to be talked down off of. I tend to get excited by the way the instruments leave an uneasy feeling in the pit of the stomach. The poison seeps in, grabs vital real estate, and refuses to let go. What's more I empathize with the hangover caused by rough lovemaking. Elle's been haunted by ghosts of amor past and come out the other side a better woman for it. For "Under The Influence" I don't sense remorse for the love games she and her beloved have been playing. She's just sorry kismet caught up to her. Elle has a great ingenue spirit. She's sprightly as can be and, as a consequence, that lends itself well to the mojo that's crucial to her performance. You get swept up by the bass guitar background. It's libido igniter. The drummer hammers home aftermath in all its wretched glory. I'm also taken with how the chords about thirty seconds in intensify and build up to a blissfully hard charging crescendo. You can make out Elle writhing in consternation with her own rotten luck, a luck of her own making. The second stanza brings that fantastic bass into clearer perspective. Couple that with another shot of drumming and the vodka chasers fill in what basic imagination can not. Elle' current album is, conveniently enough called "Love Stuff". Whether haunted by it or under its influence, Elle's reach extends to places that make most of us extremely uncomfortable. Her voice has fingernails that scratch your back and dig in for maximum sadistic pleasure. This beat aims to soak up the sordidness, wallow around in the dirty dealings. As epicenters go Elle kicks up a mighty wind that demands you pay attention. Would I say "Under The Influence" goes great with mixed nuts and a few cold ones? You could do worse. At this early stage in her career Elle wears the temptress hat in malevolent glee. "Under The Influence" isn't overproduced at all. Au contraire. It has just the right seasoning to uncork a fiery straight to table mouth watering revelation.