Fugitive Elf

Nic Gill has re-released his Fugitive Elf effort through Shadow Records and hopefully this will grace a few more stereos and hit many more eardrums. Soulbound isn't a fantastic album and it's not breaking new musical ground, but it definitely contains enough hooks and samples that will run through your mind long after a few initial listens. Fugitive Elf at times treads the vibes of abstract hip-hop beats similar to DJ Krush, but not nearly as perfected or as complex. But this simplicity works very well at times with tracks like "Ice Caves," which uses a familiar DJ Food breakbeat amongst fluctuating organs noises and "Honey Flower" which takes an eerie bass line, piano tinkerings and a chant-like vocal sample. The second half of Soulbound really shines with Fugitive Elf's more intriguing tracks, some reaching a very beautiful stage like the album-titled track - the gem of the album with cymbal-heavy jazz drums leading into violin plucking and blues guitar. Soulbound is quite impressive and hopefully an offering that's the start of even greater and more complex releases from Fugitive Elf.