At 15 years old, Ava Elay is already proving to be an unreckonable talented force; her latest single, Spell of the Heart, arrestingly exhibits her unconventionally poetic composition style and the deft touches she puts on her histrionically melodic progressions, undoubtedly influenced by her time studying the dramatic arts in LA.
With vocal lines which carry the same mainstream pop appeal as Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus and swathes of darkly infectious ingenuity within the instrumentals to give her sound an irresistible mutant pop touch, Spell of the Heart is poetry in theatrical pop motion.
Ava Elay has been exploring themes of passion and love since 2019, with her official debut single, Eternity, arriving in 2021. She may be young, but clearly, the singer-songwriter and pianist has exactly what it takes to be as influential as Mitski and Lucy Dacus with the romantic depth within her sonorously beguiling hits.
Through Spell of the Heart, Elay paid homage to the all-consuming nature of obsession, and how impossible it is to escape it once you have embraced it. As many poets have observed, falling in love is the only socially acceptable form of madness; few wordsmiths allude to the visceral sensation as succinctly and viscerally as Elay.
Spell of the Heart debuted on June 30; hear it on Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast