Elaine Malone has today released her debut album Pyrrhic on Pizza Pizza Records.
Pyrrhic, as the name suggests, explores triumph achieved at too great a cost. All mixed up with shoegaze, haunting vocals, and foreboding guitars, Pyrrhic is an album that constantly evolves, much like Malone’s music has done over the years. A culmination of that music, Malone has struck on a diversity that develops as one in unexpected, wonderful ways.
Take “Moontread” (video below) with its enveloping shoegaze sound, “The Hunger” which is some sort of Patti Smith/Kim Gordon hybrid, or the accomplished “Nothing Is Real” with its psychedelic vibe. Despite their differences, there is an allure that connects them, an allure all great artists effortlessly possess. Malone, evidently, is well on her way to becoming a great artist.
Malone’s strengths aren’t difficult to pin down and need no exaggeration. How it is that “My Baby’s Dead” can sound so rockabilly yet apt at the centre of Pyrrhic is a testament to Malone’s maturity and self-belief. I can’t help but think that if David Lynch saw fit to shoot another season of Twin Peaks we would see Malone perform this one at the Roadhouse…
For a debut that has been a long time coming, and eagerly anticipated, Pyrrhic doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it reveals facets of Malone’s music that fans will only want to hear more of; extraordinary yet subtle nuances Malone has made her own.
Pyrrhic and More
Appearing alongside Elaine Malone on Pyrrhic are long-time collaborator Sam Clague (Crying Loser), James Christie (The Bonk), and Ruairí Dale. Furthermore, the album was recorded in Cork City in December 2021 by Cathal MacGabhann of The Altered Hours.
You can order your very own copy of Pyrrhic here. Elaine Malone is also up to all sorts over on Instagram and Facebook if you’re in the mood to dish out a follow.
G.M
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