Elonzo Wesley

As popular Charlotte indie-rock/alt-country outfit Elonzo slowly disbanded, Jeremy Davis continued to hold the torch as a solo performer. It only makes sense, then, that Davis would rebrand himself as Elonzo Wesley — named after his father, as was the original band — and continue forth as a folk singer-songwriter brandishing the quality lyrical content that drew fans to Elonzo's live shows and recordings — three albums and two EPs. As Davis says, "it's about the truth of the moment and the beauty and sadness of what has passed."

This four-song EP, To Be True, is a stellar quartet fueled by Davis' smooth vocal tone, strong words and simple acoustic backdrop. "Love Me, Be My Friend" uses a tumbling strum as Davis tells the tale of falling in love. "Don't Ask Me" is stunning in its simplicity — "Don't ask me how I'm doing, I'm doing fine," he sings in the somber chorus.

Davis picks up the pace on the title track. There are flourishes of noise around him — electric guitar strums, pedal steel, keyboards, that help fill out the sign and conjure up images of the original Elonzo band's music. The EP's closer, "Know Too Much," slows things down again, bringing forth as much emotion as anything previous in telling the tale of a wanderer passing through.

Overall, it serves as a solid primer to his solo career and what's to come. If you're looking for more, Elonzo Wesley is also featured on a limited-run, split 7" with Sinners & Saints entitled This Ain't No Country Song

by Jeff Hahne - Creative Loafing Charlotte

Following June’s split release with Sinners & Saints “This Ain’t No Country Song”, Elonzo Wesley (Jeremy Davis) emerges from the watery depths with “To Be True” out September 8. Elonzo Wesley’s songs take form by sonically wiping away the accumulated dust in an old attic to stare longingly out the dormer window across empty fields. The four-song album glorifies Davis’ maturity as a solo artist where new melodies have materialized with Davis’ tenure as a musician.

Trembling with honesty, “Love Me, Be My Friend” is an intimate inside look into Davis’ personal experience of falling deeply, honestly in love with his now-wife. The song travels through his own memories of meeting, dating, tribulations, and a truthful finale that comes with marriage. Starting simply like most things do, the catchy hook innocently asks a girl, “do you love me, do you wanna be my friend?” as if the song is a crinkled three-hole-punched note passed with held breath and clumsy boxes to check “yes or no.”

Davis spends a fair amount of his time traveling, and when he’s not on the road he’s likely 1000 miles away in his own head. This faraway wonderment is exemplified in “Don’t Ask Me”, where Davis simply responds that he just isn’t sure why there’s a million bad things going on in the world, and why we’re all so burdened with the human condition, but he hopes the $20 in his pocket will get him through another day.

Title-track song, “To Be True”, is crescendo of the album, an instantly timeless declaration of the virtuous totems love and truth. Again Davis takes the listener back to gazing out a window, when he confidently belts out, “I know I love you when the morning hits the window”, putting the listener in his exact moment of realization, a moment that will dawn on him every morning until the end of time.

“Know Too Much” drizzles out the album with falling rain vocals that land softly and caress the album to darkness. The lyrics showcase quiet, strong solitude against a landscape of chaos. Drawing his songs from experience, Davis notes of the clear reminiscent aspects that go into his songwriting. “I feel like that is the stuff that lasts, that people keep coming back to and that’s what I want to do with my music, even with the sound of it or the production. I don’t want it to be of the moment as much as I want it “To Be True” to itself and to the subject matter.” - Clture