Enid Ellen

Beyond Reality: The Release

The Duplex, NYC, March 5, 2018

Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes

The band Enid Ellen, made up of singer David Mramor and pianist Greg Potter, has released a new album that could easily be described as thoroughly original. Melodic, strange, and with mind-bending pitch changes by Mramor, each song takes on a metal anthem feel and yet featured a single singer, Mramor, and an above-average pianist accompaniment arranged by Potter (music: Potter; lyrics: Potter and Mramor).

Eerie lines within songs with complex verse arrangements and an individual display of a rare ability to cast off pretensions by Mramor as the character “Enid Ellen” marked an aggressive, gothic performance. Wearing a dress and staring into the face of a male bust, Ellen reflected in the CD’s title song, “…smoke fills my ears and eyes / ceiling comes tumbling down / oh no, you’re going to die…Beyond, beyond reality.” Then violently slamming himself against the ground for the entire song “Iceland” to create the effect of drums, he simultaneously let rip stunning amounts of voice in moving indictments of the tight society we’ve come to live within such as “Your sun is as cruel as an animal.”

While I can safely say that there might be too much personality here for some, Ellen didn’t just look like he gave it all with each verse; he literally gave it all to the point where he was catching his breath and changing his tattered clothing after only the fourth song. Later on, rather than leave the stage, he just ripped his second dress down the seam revealing white pants underneath. Naturally raw and likely pushed by a personality hell bent on driving it to the edge, Mramor’s voice might cover five octaves more easily than I can whistle in one.

Their “poppiest” song was definitely “Kiss You to the Top (of Love),” which they’ve recently released as a music video. It’s worth a listen especially if you’re looking for unique vocal talent who won’t stop for what anybody thinks he should do. He certainly reminds a viewer to live a little and let go.

I could see this album dominating the Midwest and the tired monotony of corn fields that I once knew. Check it out!