Tenterhooks

Ellen Beth Abdi came to our attention first when she joined A Certain Ratio on their 1982 album and live shows, singing on some of the songs on the album and a lot of the songs when playing live. She has a solo album ready to release in May and preceded it with a single, Tenterhooks, three weeks ago. 

Tenterhooks has a woozy, off kilter rhythm and melody, a wheezy organ sound picking up the tune, jazz and soul both a part of the sound and the tune. The song is about the infernal wait after sending a message, the waiting for a response and the doubt that kicks in. 

This week saw the release of Sad Chord, a short song that never quite does what you might expect it to- the drums and organ keep shifting, there is a flute, the bass bumps around and Ellen's vocal melody keeps things off centre.