Robert Ellis: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 23, 2016 by LARS GOTRICH Robert Ellis somehow finds wideeyed wonder in heartbreak. His downbeat themes come up against sonically ambitious and lushly arranged sounds on his selftitled, fourth album, which plays with country and Americana music tradition, not to mention the legacy of 70s singersongwriters. So when Ellis and backing guitarist Kelly Doyle came to the NPR Music offices dressed in sharp suits (Ellis uniform this year, he told me), they retained these meticulous and thoughtful arrangements by foregrounding the tender and timeless melodies with busy, yet reinforcing guitar work. The grandiose How I Love You becomes a slowburner desperate with lingering desire. The fiery, bluegrassinspired Drivin guzzles fuel with no destination in mind, Ellis just surviving without his lover. It s a song that makes a point out of the many things we do to forget, lyrically ( I ve changed all the light bulbs and had this conversation about three million times or more. I guess I ll walk around th