yvonne - endless soul

Yvonne

Endless Soul
self-released; 2014

3.9 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

A folk-inspired electric/acoustic singer-songwriter from London named Yvonne has one of those voices I could just listen to acapella without a problem. A bit of Natalie Merchant a bit of Tracy Chapman in there but regardless of who you can reference she sounds great. 

Her recent six-song release Endless Soul is a gorgeous combination of folk, rock and pop in which you get to hear an exceptional voice over effective instrumentation.  

Yvonne has a voice that isn’t just pretty.  The first thing I would say is that she sounds unique as well as empowering. There is a confidence in the way she sings that makes it easy for the listener to get behind the songs. There is also sometimes something haunting in the way she sings at times. It’s slight but there on songs like “Endless Soul” and “Stay With Me.”

The album has a nice ebb and flow throughout the six songs. “I Didn’t Know” starts off upbeat and revolves around cascading piano and clean guitar. The vocal melody is one of the most memorable on the album. “Endless Soul” puts her vocal front and center. It’s an easy song to get captivated by because of the vocal but I don’t want to downplay the instrumentation which is also quite engaging. 

There is a definite 10,000 maniacs vibe going on with “Would You Do It Again.”  It has a bit of the mysterious revival type vibe going on that made the band popular. “Would You Do It Again” in my opinion was the most commercially accessible song on the album. 

The album ends with the loosest and most delicate song entitled “And You Sin.” The song is held together by her voice. I could easily make a case for this being the most beautiful song on the album. Endless Soul is an enjoyable release on many different levels. It’s consistently good and doesn’t contain many flaws.

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