Iyla Elise - Stringing Me Along

Iyla Elise

Stringing Me Along
self-released; 2025

By Dan Weston

From the first few seconds of “Stringing Me Along,” I found myself nodding along to the slow pull of its groove. Iyla Elise leans into something rich and understated here, a blend of blues and soul that feels less like a genre exercise and more like a quiet reckoning.

​There’s a sensual weight to the performance, but it never tries too hard to seduce. Instead, it simmers with a low-grade ache, the kind that comes from trying to bridge the space between people who love each other under terms they never quite agreed to.

The guitar fills are tasteful, even beautiful, but they take a backseat to the vocal delivery, which is where this song really lives. Elise doesn't belt so much as she confides, using tone and restraint as a kind of emotional shorthand. I could feel the yearning not just in the lyrics, which trace the contours of conditional love, but in the way her voice wavers at just the right moments. The production leaves plenty of space, allowing every detail to feel intentional. The brushwork on the drums is soft but steady, almost like a heartbeat trying to hold everything together.

Toward the end, a brief piano and vocal section offers a quiet pause, emphasizing the emotional weight without leaning into melodrama. It’s the kind of track that feels carefully shaped but never rigid. Elise has a way of making vulnerability feel like strength, and that quiet intensity makes the track feel surprisingly intimate. It's not flashy, but it's honest, and that makes all the difference.

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