ELLIS - Born Again LP (White Vinyl)

Label: Fat Possum

Hamilton, Ontario-based singer /songwriter Linnea Siggelkow got her professional start in the Toronto music scene, playing in bands before beginning to share her intimate solo material in small performance spaces around the city. Adopting the stage name Ellis (a play on her initials), she self-released an EP called The Fuzz in late 2018, leading to a record contract with none other than Fat Possum.

Arriving about a year and a half later, Born Again is her full-length and label debut. Working with producer Jake Aron (Snail Mail, Yumi Zouma), she refined the lush, grungy atmospheres of her EP for ten tracks that pair personal, vulnerable lyrics and a resigned vocal delivery with a mix of guitar distortion and lofty synth atmosphere.

The ballad "Shame" showcases all these traits, with downcast verses accompanied by economical drums and sauntering guitar before spacy, string-like keyboards, soaring guitar lines, and crashing cymbals join the choruses.