Sam Eliot
Two of a Kind

Two of a Kind, a two-song EP marks the debut of Swedish artist Sam Eliot who claims to be tired of all artists doing what everyone else is doing. He wants to make something of his own while still keeping it relevant and listenable. That is certainly a noble approach, as a critic I always want artists to find their own path rather than emulate others. And Eliot’s promotion already has some endorsing words from medias and claims good things likening him to Tom Petty and some other famous pop-rock people. So, what about this two-song EP that plays for little under eight minutes?

It is a pop-rock creation with emphasis on the melodies and the vocals which both are good. The production is strong, the tempo isn’t very high but the choruses are still pretty catchy. It ends fast and with just two songs it is very difficult to really make an impression of what I am hearing. Many bands can produce two good songs but if that is all that they got it can’t be said to be very interesting, can it? I am not saying that Eliot only has the ability to make two good songs, it may be a conscious choice to start with a two-song EP to throw the name out there or something – and we use the name on Hallowed now so if that was the idea it has worked.

And the songs are both good, they show off strong musicianship and song-writing qualities. Although I would not claim that it is something that really strays outside convention, it may not be exactly what everyone else is doing or in the biggest of the musical flows but it is hardly unique either. It is not judging from these two tracks but it could be more so when more songs is added, perhaps when making an album or something with more than just two songs. The two songs is the Achilles heel here, I prefer albums and not singles, I prefer listening to one band at the time rather than mixed playlists and this makes these two tracks somewhat less relevant than much that we review.

But I am looking forward to hearing more from Eliot, because if he makes and album with songs of a quality like the two we get here we will see a great album – and that is something I hope to be seeing in a not too distant future. This to me feels more like a teaser in anticipation of that album. But I have no doubt that the first track Hey You that is also released as a video after release date can find its way into the hearts of many, I personally like the second track Good Mistake more as it has a bit more energy and tempo.

With that many words about these few minutes of music I can conclude that I like these two tracks and looking forward to hearing more. I certainly think it can be worth checking out Eliot’s music as this EP might be the start of something very interesting.

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