Mikky Ekko – Strange Fruit EP

Album Reviews • Tuesday August 25th, 2009 • 9:57 am

Nashville is growing, both in its number of citizens and in the diversity of its citizens’ musical output. In times past, it seemed that in order to live within Nashville’s city limits one had to have an old acoustic guitar and an unwavering admiration for late ’50s country pop. However, the capital city of Tennessee, long known for its country, folk, and Americana music, is now attracting musical artists of various shades and stripes, and Mikky Ekko is one such artist.

His recent Strange Fruit EP stands as a whirlwind of styles which restlessly roams and turns throughout the album, making the music difficult to classify. Yet, Mikky Ekko’s influences and interests are on full display as he draws from blues, classic rock, electronica, California pop, and gospel to create a fascinating sound, which places him somewhere on the outskirts of the Radiohead universe.

Composed of four songs and a 30-second intro, Strange Fruit packs a decent punch for its short 13-and-a-half-minute run time. Each song displays a high level of care and craftsmanship revealing that a real artist lurks behind the spooky Grizzly Bear-inspired harmonies, the dreamy electronics, and the minimalist instrumentation.

Though all of the songs here are fine, “Sedated” and “It’s Only You” quietly rise above the rest to provide convincing evidence that Mikky Ekko is an artist to watch. “Sedated” opens as an a cappella tune complete with melodic hums and snapping fingers. But things don’t remain still for long and before it’s all over, a deep rhythm emerges as the snaps turn to handclaps, a brooding guitar and a funky computer arrive, and a ghostly choir creeps in to elevate the song to a new level.

“Sedated” also marks the first time in which Mikky Ekko sounds like a more decipherable version of Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke. Coincidently, similarities to Yorke are also heard on “It’s Only You,” which makes use of a tambourine, a dingy guitar line, a whining harmonica, and Mikky Ekko’s distinct tenor to form a song that could easily pass for a late ‘90s Radiohead b-side.

This EP serves only as an introduction to Mikky Ekko’s unique talents as a singer and songwriter; therefore, it’s anyone’s guess how his sound will evolve. Though Strange Fruit provides only a taste of Mikky Ekko’s sound, it is just enough to make listeners hungry to hear more from this up-and-coming Nashvillian.