8 Days Down

Album Review

Few rock singers — male or female — sound both soulful and bluesy circa the early 21st century. Jen Elliott manages to buck the trend on her sophomore release, 2006's 8 Days Down. While her 2003 debut, Secret's Out, was credited solely to Elliott. On her second outing, she gets top billing along with her backing band, Bluestruck, and it's a major improvement on its all-over-the-place predecessor. Although both musically and vocally it's easy to immediately assume that both the Rolling Stones and Bonnie Raitt serve as major influences, upon closer inspection, Elliott's singing is at times the spitting image of Chrissie Hynde's (especially in her phrasing). Picture Hynde fronting a more rootsy version of the Pretenders, and it's not a far cry from such standouts as "Captivity" and "Full." In an era where more and more singers are looking to polish and smooth out their vocals on record, it's reassuring to hear that there are rock singers still out there like Elliott, who aren't afraid to step out.