Jack Elliot - “It’s Not Easy Being Invisible”
Photo by Gabriel Jemsten
Sweden-based singer-songwriter Jack Elliot has just released the remarkably lo-fi and stripped-back sounds of “It’s Not Easy Being Invisible.”
This is one of those delightful folk songs that sounds as though the artist has simply opened up his guitar case and played you a tune. It begins with some exquisitely finger-plucked acoustic guitar, authentically raw and void of any digital production tactics that would dare subtract from the intimacy of the perfromance.
At the age of twenty-two, Elliot already sounds as though he’s been playing music his entire life, with a vocal that invites the listener directly into his existential world akin to the mastery of Nick Drake and John Martyn. “It’s Not Easy Being Invisible” sounds as though it was recorded live, directly to two-inch tape, with a palatable vintage tinge that will leave you longing for more.
As the song progresses, additional elements arrive, including some soft keys and thick, round notes from a bass. But even as the arrangement picks up some passengers, it never once wavers from its sincere and heartfelt path. “It’s Not Easy Being Invisible” will surely have you tracking down the rest of the EP, which is available everywhere.