James Elkington’s ‘Ever-Roving’ Eye Catches Wide Variety of Sounds

As the instrumental texture gradually becomes more detailed and more intricate in the title track from James Elkington’s sophomore release Ever-Roving Eye, we are transported to some psychedelic realm in the sky. We are steadied by the consistent pulse of unchanging percussion, but swayed by the hazy, dulcet vocal harmonies and rocked by the wind of a noodling electric guitar. It is a mesmerizing glimpse into Elkington’s inner workings and ceaseless seeking of new sonic corners to light up.

Nodding to inspiration from his own homeland with British folk songs, Elkington’s music has a timeless quality to it. It could be some recently unearthed treasure of the past or it could be completely new and contemporary. With Ever-Roving Eye, Elkington freely draws from everything on that spectrum, from ’60s psych-rock to rootsy twang and spare folk music. And that eye knows no bounds. Sometimes he seems to just lose himself in a guitar jam, like on “Rendlesham Way.” Other moments, like “Go Easy on October,” find him focused intently on deeply felt lyrics about needing the universe to give him a break. “Late Jim’s Lament” plays with a jazz-inflected arrangement, adding a sense of panic to a tune about the stress of running late. “Sleeping Me Awake” gives us the sunnier melodic side of things even as it plows through dark, anxiety-ridden lyrical territory, where “Leopards Lay Down” is a soothing showing of Elkington’s signature low tone, here used to create dreamy harmonies.

Elkington has been an indispensable contributor to Chicago acts like Wilco (this record was made at their Loft recording studio) and Tortoise, and beyond with artists like Steve Gunn, Richard Thompson, and Joan Shelley, which only seems to feed his own creative ambitions more. His own ever-roving eye has led him to assembling this second prestigious collection of songs, a balm for these tumultuous times.