new album MEMORANDUM out now!
https://doodleev.bandcamp.com/album/memorandum
A word from Elise on ‘Memorandum’:
"This is a group of recordings I made over a span of almost four years. Most of the recordings were made at home, "unprofessionally", and were recorded the day I wrote the song. I love these recordings not because they are polished and new, but for exactly the opposite reason: because they are real and raw and true to me, and they captured a magic that it is a rare miracle to capture in the studio. I wanted people to hear these songs in their most true form, which is always the day I wrote them, when I couldn't stop playing them, basking in the magic of a new song. My hope is to share this glorious magic that I experience when writing a song with my listeners."
“A LITTLE LONGER”
Elise Leavy's breezy Laurel Canyon-tinged music belies her depth as a songwriter. On A Little Longer, Leavy's first major solo artistic statement, she deftly explores nostalgia and melancholy over ten tracks that wash over the listener like a gentle ocean tide. Indeed, the record's sound hearkens to an era when the SoCal sound dominated the FM dial. Now a resident of Lafayette, LA, this collection of songs was written while Leavy was living in Boston and New York. However, it's clear that growing up on California's central coast was foundational to Leavy's songwriting. Lush mid-1970s production courtesy of Robin MacMillian shows up in the horns on "Cigarettes and Coffee" or the pedal steel on "I Have Been Trying." Expansive vocal harmonies permeate "Please Don't Ask Me To Be Friends" or "I Won't Be Dreaming Anymore" which reference everything from Motown to The Beach Boys. Experienced as a whole, A Little Longer is startlingly cohesive and masterful in tone and writing. Take note because this young artist has arrived as a songwriting force.
Listen Here!
Recent interviews:
Unkempt with Ashton York / Full Circle with Elise Leavy
https://www.ashtonanny.com/podcast-1/episode/7c8be928/full-circle-with-elise-leavy
Basic Folk Podcast: Elise Leavy is the Faerie Kid of Folk, ep. 247
The Bluegrass Situation
https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/bgs-55-elise-leavy/
Bio
Raised on the central coast of California and currently living in Lafayette, LA, Elise Leavy has a distinctly unique voice as a singer and songwriter. Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, and recently was selected as a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition. She has studied the art of singing and harmony for the better part of her 26 years, graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music at the tender age of 19, and moving to New York City to pursue music. She released her first studio album just last year, a group of songs written and recorded in Brooklyn, NY with producer and engineer Robin MacMillan, and a full band of local musicians, and was on the road touring for most of 2023 and 2024, with fellow musicians Viv and Riley, Eamon O’Leary, Sami Braman, and Love, DEAN. She is thrilled to be touring an even newer record in 2025, released in September of this year, called “Memorandum”.
She will be playing a solo set at Blackpot Festival this October, and shortly after, opening for Olivia Barton on a short run of shows. She sang harmonies on Eamon O’Leary’s most recent record, titled “The Silver Sun”, as well as Alexa Wildish’s upcoming record “After Love”, and sang harmonies and played accordion on Liv Greene’s upcoming record, titled “Deep Feeler”.
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