Through a live performance of ‘Elevator’, singer-songwriter Alex Bloom shifts into the folk world sideways. His suave slip into offbeat melodies and vocal tricks make for a captivating performance more along the line of experimental riffs that more inhabit the Elliott Smith-inspired space than the straight-shooting, three-chord strums of traditional folk.
Recorded on a pretty lush looking bed of grass, the cool, low-key production of the song’s original interpretation is retained while setting the focus further on Bloom’s uncanny vocal abilities. As stripped back as the arrangement is with the new doors that it opens for fans of Bloom’s initial version of the tune, no new version can escape the infectious haze that ‘Elevator’ tends to define.
On ‘Elevator’, Bloom has said, “I wrote a song about the existential elevator ride of life. I think it’s something everyone thinks about all the time. My creative inspiration came from this little white Casio keyboard with preset beats that I set to ‘Rock’. Then I started with this guitar riff and immediately noticed the shape and movement of the chord I used, kind of looked like an elevator.”
Words by: Jonathan Frahm (@jfrahm_)