Nottingham’s ambient veterans Eyre Llew gave an assembled crowd at The Grove a taste of a new era. With support from the sublime Ella Clayton, we experienced a magical evening...
We headed down to The Grove in Sneinton Market to catch the matinee performance from Eyre Llew of their highly anticipated new single Miningsby taken from their forthcoming album Bloom. If you’ve not found it yet, I have to make mention of The Grove – What a place! Tucked away, almost hidden on one of the market avenues, it is a small venue with simply one room, a bar area and a capacity of 60. Open for not about a year-and-a-half, it has already hosted well over 250 shows. With an incredible sound in such a small space, it is a must visit if you want to catch some fantastic up and coming grassroots acts.
In support this afternoon is London singer-songwriter Ella Clayton. A talented singer, her soulful voice is something to behold along with her relaxed and confident interactions with the crowd, laughing and joking as she describes the meanings behind the tracks. Her sound is blend of styles and influences from jazz to R&B and pop, creating something refreshing and different. Her heartfelt lyrics and soft soothing vocals have that - dare I say it - Dusty Springfield feel to them.
Introducing the track Please Me, a song about her struggles to allow relationships time to connect, her lyrics are meaningful and emotive and remind me of Imelda May on her album 11 Past the Hour.
On Could It Be You?, the title track to her upcoming album (due for release on 24th April), Ella describes her experiences of a first date at the cinema (a fateful first date mix!) and encourages the crowd to sing along providing the harmonies for the chorus.
A thoroughly enjoyable performance from a very talented singer-songwriter.
Ambient maestros Eyre Llew have been ever present on the Nottingham music scene since 2014 and having released their debut album Atelo in 2017 have been a hard working touring band every since. As for everyone in the music business (and many others), Covid lockdown hit hard, and for Eyre Llew it was a welcome break, allowing them time to stop and reflect and pause from the relentless touring. As singer / guitarist Sam Heaton put it, it gave them time to recover and re-define Eyre Llew. Many of the band's new songs grew their roots from the simple acoustic guitar ideas laid down in Sam's flat during those days. The title of the new album is poignant of this re-birth.
Opening with Nova, we move on to the classic Havoc from 2017’s Atelo, with the violin bow drawn across guitar strings, creating a soft soulful background to the track, as cymbals crash like the tide building to a powerful melody. Sam’s high, delicate vocals seem to drift around the room effortlessly. We also dip into the waters of the Carrier EP from 2019 with Silo, a song which builds slowly and has the most delightful piano section – delicate and simple. Every track is emotional and powerful. I’ve heard comparison to Sigur Rós and it is well justified. Not many manage to capture the beauty of music quite like Eyre Llew.
The set also gives us a taste of the new album with the title track Bloom as well as Oban written by Sam and reflecting on his favourite holiday location on the west coast of Scotland, with no phone signal, just wild, open, unpopulated beaches, a partner, the dogs… Somewhere to simply lose yourself. Somewhere he hopes to retire one day and tend to his strawberries !
Then, there’s the new single itself, Miningsby. Written about the experience of watching someone you love dearly struggle, it’s a heartwarming piece with whispered lyrics and soft slow ethereal piano; it oozes compassion and understanding, and blurs the line between music and experience, creating an almost ocean-like feel as it washes over us in emotive waves.
The new music remains true to the Eyre Llew sound, but it feels different in some way, The band have evolved and grown, both sonically and in confidence. They round off the set with two fan favourites from 2017 in the shape of Atelo and Edca, both beautiful ambient masterpieces.
An incredible and personal experience, close up and personal, this gig feels almost like ‘an evening with…’
It's clear that Eyre Llew haven’t just recovered from the Covid lockdown, but have grown exponentially. 2026 looks set to huge for this talented group, with the new album and their largest ever headline show planned for September 2026…. Hopefully, this is their year.
Eyre Llew performed at The Grove on 29th March 2026.
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