‘Blizzard’ Review: Dove Ellis Shows the Arrival of a Powerful New Voice

Not much is truly known about the enigmatic Dove Ellis, but there are three things we can confirm. First, he is an Irish singer and songwriter. Second, new-generation rock group Geese admire him enough to bring him along as their only supporting act for their North American tour. Third, anyone who presses play on a Dove Ellis track quickly understands that his voice is something remarkable. With the arrival of his debut album ‘Blizzard’, Ellis finally fulfills the anticipation that has been building since he began regularly performing in 2022.

When you compare ‘Blizzard’ to the fiery presence Ellis brings to the stage, the album feels hauntingly close and personal. It resembles bedroom pop, although the room feels more like a sealed-off tunnel beneath old Paris. Every break in Ellis’ voice is left exposed, and tracks such as ‘Little Left Hope’ expand his vocals into an almost spectral chorus that would be incredibly difficult to recreate in front of a crowd. He unleashes gripping, emotional cries that can stop you in your tracks, which you can hear clearly on ‘Tie Your Hair Up’. That same sense of closeness sometimes softens songs like ‘Away You Stride’, a moment in his shows where he typically lets his voice erupt.

Another challenge that comes with Ellis’ striking vocal tone is the unavoidable comparison to Jeff Buckley. When a singer resembles an artist as revered as Buckley, they have to work that much harder to carve out their own identity. Ellis’ strongest asset in this regard is his writing, which shifts from sensual and surreal to more straightforward moments of reflection, like in ‘Love Is’, where he declares, “Love is not mapped by quotations, and it’s not what it seems”. Even though his age is still a mystery, he carries himself with a maturity that feels beyond his assumed youth, and that depth helps lift his lyrics above anything resembling a simple Buckley imitation.

Ellis also experiments with the textures of his music. ‘Jaundice’ moves with the looseness of an Irish jig, while songs such as ‘Heaven Has No Wings’ weave in natural reed tones that link him more closely to groups like Black Country, New Road. Odd little bursts of sound scattered across ‘To The Sandals’ hint at a more adventurous side than most of ‘Blizzard’ initially suggests.

At its core, ‘Blizzard’ gathers a set of well-crafted guitar songs, capturing the restless spark that has earned Ellis so much early praise. His sound could become even more personal with time, but he already carries a once-in-a-generation voice, a willingness to explore new ideas and a writing style all his own. Something thrilling feels ready to break through the storm he is building.