Eliza and the Nancys

When it comes to anything musical, I am unfortunately a lost cause. Not only can I not hold a tune, but I can’t hold a beat either. While, yes, I love listening to music and singing alone, it’s purely for my own amusement. My singing voice has been compared to a “cat being strangled”. I’m not THAT bad at singing, but the only positive way you can describe my musical talent is “crap but enthusiastic”.

Thankfully, the rest of my family not only puts up with my tuneless enthusiasm, but they all have some sort of musical talent. My siblings, while untrained, can at least hold a note. And on my mum’s side of the family, there is genuine skill.

In fact, there is so much musical talent that my cousin has started her own band.

And it’s genuinely really good.

Eliza and the Nancys is an upcoming band, featuring Megan Shields and Jamie Prew. And it absolutely blows my mind that someone in my family is so damn musically talented. This dynamic band have released three songs so far (as of writing) and all of them are awesome. Each track covers a different theme, and combines powerful vocals with a simple and effective beat and intricate melodies.

All their songs so far are beautiful

As I mentioned before, I am not a musical person. In fact, I know fuck all about how music works, how it’s all put together and all that. Does kinda make reviewing music pretty hard. But you don’t need to be god at music yourself to acknowledge great talent. And that’s exactly what I’m doing here.

As of writing, Eliza and the Nancys have produced three tracks. Their breakout song and first release is Dear Heart, a lullaby of conflicting emotions. In this gentle and blissfully smooth track, there is a genuine struggle in their feelings towards another person. Dear Heart is a battle between history and logic, versus the desires of one’s heart. Should one follow their heart and its illogical desires and gut instincts? Or is it better to listen to your past and history?

Biting My Tongue takes a very different theme. The idea of someone not making some effort, not being the best person one can be. The conflict this time is of speaking up for a change. Does one remain silent in hopes of keeping the peace? Or should one step forward and talk about their grievances with their other half?

Their third song though? Amazing. More than amazing.

Ending of Ghost is genuinely haunting to me

Their latest track (at least at the point of writing) is called Ending of Ghost. It’s a beautiful melody. I will admit that the lyrics are a little off (mostly just in a grammatical sense) but the track is hauntingly amazing. A soft, heart-torn memory of someone else, the loss of a loved one. Ending of Ghost is a delicate, beautiful eulogy towards an amazing person who is no longer with us. This song is both an amazing send off to a lost friend and the fleeting memories of the joys this loved one always brought with them.

Ending of Ghost is genuinely a song that brings me to tears.

That might just be me though. Because Ending of Ghost is dedicated to Aunty Pin. A song dedicated to my poor mum who sadly passed away in September 2020. Ending of Ghost is a perfect yet tragic message to someone who was always such a bright, amazing and well-loved person.

Have a listen if you can

While normally ballads aren’t normally my cup of tea, Megan’s vocals and Jamies’ guitar skills make for a genuinely wonderful piece of music.

Am I biased though because a family member has made some amazing creations? Maybe. But I still think it’s worth listening to, because Megan has a beautiful and chilling voice that sends shivers down one’s spine.