Rory Ellis is a down to earth Australian singer-songwriter who specialises in "commonplace stories about shit that happens every day".
He's a hard working guy with a heavy touring schedule and for his fifth album, recorded at home, he takes a refreshingly optimistic view of the ageing process: "I'm not getting old, just perfectly damaged".
At 45, his philosophy is that "every wrinkle, every scar, every experience just adds up to a higher score on the board of life".
He applies his gritty voice and good humour to a range of other topics which include finding religion in Cambridge, UK (Jesus Lane), the empty pleasures of online dating (PC Love), bad neighbours (Street Angel House Devil), reconnecting with old mates (Not Much) or finding the love of your life (in his case a car - a 65 Pontiac).
Not all of it is autobiographical, for example Skeleton Hill about a place in Chiltern, Victoria threatened by unscrupulous redevelopment by big cement companies.
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It begins with Waiting For Armaguard, imaging how five minutes in possession of a security truck might transform your life and ends with the most personal song on the album , Flesh And Bone. This is about the challenge of communicating with his autistic twin sons who see the world in a different way "I've got my own tongue, you'll never hear / so we'll walk under different skies".
This song sums up his glass half full philosophy so you shouldn't be put off by his mean and moody promotional photos or the skull's head on the album cover.
Essentially this is just one man armed with a guitar and banjo doing what he knows best - telling stories and playing straightforward, folk-roots blues with some of that good old fashioned cowboy twang.
Rory Ellis' Website
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