Iyla Elise released her most powerful song to date with the ballad Change the World. Turning hope, romanticism, and country blues into gospel for souls who feel powerless in the face of the world’s atrocities and how they’re reflected in the person who means the most to us, Elise entrenched Change the World with the kind of compassion that almost feels mythical in modernity. Hailing from a small town on Virginia’s east coast, and writing from a place rooted in Americana, country and blues, she carries the rare ability to make big emotional themes feel painfully close to home. That’s exactly what gives this release its hold from the start.
The piano-driven sermon of passion is enveloped in a choral euphony that seems to resound beyond the typical remits of sound as her flawless vocal command smooths over the nuanced blues undertones ringing through the guitars. There are shades of Norah Jones in the intimacy, hints of Chris Stapleton in the soulful earthiness, and the melodic heart of Billy Joel in the arrangement, but Elise holds her own centre throughout. It leaves you mesmerised by her power as an evocateur. Honestly, it deserves to go down as one of the most seminal ballads of the decade. If people still had the capacity to sit still with music instead of chasing dopamine from hooks, Elise would be on billboards.
Change the World is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
