I first met singer-songwriter, producer, and sound engineer Elisa Nicolas toward the end of 2020. During our discussion, she focused on two current projects she was the most excited to be working on: Brave Hearts for Broadway—a pandemic-era idea that brought together theater-minded frontline and essential workers to raise money for the performance art—and working on her self-titled with acclaimed producer Jeff Ciampa, drummer Tony McClung, and guitarist Josh Hill. This dream team appeared on six of the eight tracks on Year of the Locust, the first self-release from Nicolas in 12 years.
Peering into Nicolas’ basement, it was apparent she was a studio junkie. Between the monitors, keyboards, and racks of guitars, being quarantined in her house would seem like paradise to some. Nicolas is a multi-instrumentalist who cares deeply about how things sound, which is why it’s no wonder her musical chemistry with Ciampa—someone Nicolas rightfully fawns over as the best bass player she’s ever seen and who also mixed and produced the record—reaches super professional heights on this record. So professional that listening to it sounds like you’re shuffling through a playlist of Aimee Mann—a singer-songwriter Nicolas also adores. The leading lyrics, “She believes age before youth / There’s a body of work / A kind of universal truth,” give off major Bachelor No. 2 vibes.
While Mann wrote breakup songs that alluded to her departure from her then-label at the time, it seems Nicolas is doing the same with personal experiences recounting drug abuse and addiction. Themes of dealing with drug addiction and a toxic relationship quite frequently collide in art. At the end of the vinyl liner notes for “You Shouldn’t Matter To Me” is a more direct reference to pain Nicolas has endured in her life: the number for the Nationwide Domestic Violence Hotline.
Nicolas shared with me over Facebook messenger, “I haven’t directly experienced everything on my record. Some things, for sure. I talk a lot about mental health issues on my record, some of them mine. And I know plenty of folks that have experienced some of those other difficult experiences on my record, like spousal abuse. I think I’ve always believed there is beauty in our flaws, even my own. I’m just more willing to write about it now that I’m older. I think writing music about those shared human experiences makes for compelling storytelling.”
Most of the album sticks to a Mann-esque palette, but it’s the glistening middle of this record that strays away the most. The 808-sounding loop you’re greeted with on “Go On” is a slight departure from what you just heard on the previous three tracks. The song also marks one of the tightest and brightest spots between the quartet. It’s a sexy take on a messy relationship. This tone continues with another loop on “Bombed Out Town,” with Ciampa handling looping duties on both tracks. This transition works well leading up to the climactic, cinematic moment that is “No Answers.” The instrumentation and collaboration peak on this track, which includes additional talent like Nikki Wonder of She Burns Bright. This song best encapsulates Nicolas’ spirit.
Forgiveness, however way you come about it, was another big theme of this record. On the second track “Cardinal Line,” Nicolas alluded to opening up an almanac to find when the year of the locust would return, “Because maybe by then you may find / Whatever sympathy you lack.” Twelve years in between records and 17 years in between cicada emergences. That’s a lot of time to think, and the thoughtfulness Nicolas and the ones she’s entrusted put into this record is very clear. Lines such as “Sycophants fill up your soul vacancy” are scathing and ethering in the most beautiful, delicate manner. Do you have to forgive someone to their face? Not necessarily. The cathartic and brave experience of being able to put it into your art isn’t something everyone can do. Masterful production aside, this in-the-making album means something because of how much of herself Nicolas was able to put on the line, whether they are her stories or ones she has heard along her life journey.
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