Elison "Fruit Flies"

If the thought of another year coming to an end makes you want to cry, Elison's newest single will be the most fitting soundtrack to this New Year's Eve.

Marissa Kephart and Scott Yoshimura (The Envy Corps, Canby) of the Des Moines-based band Elison have been releasing singles since the latter half of 2021. Kephart began writing music amid the pandemic after taking a songwriting class taught by Ellen Kempner of Palehound. She then started to work with Yoshimura to craft Elison's calculated and melodic sound.

This track opens with dark synths and haunting vocals before the drums and guitars enter with an upbeat melody. This is the sound of reminiscing about how much has changed for the better and maybe not so much.

"I’d only written a couple songs at this point (thanks to the prompts in SoS) and my confidence in songwriting was in its infancy (I’d argue it still is) but taking this class really helped build it up just by the mere fact that I was able to turn in a somewhat cohesive idea each week. After making the demo I took it to Scott so that together we could sculpt the song into its final form. With Scott’s attention to detail, his ear for the right notes and production sounds, Fruit Flies underwent quite a bit of work. With a new name, various bass iterations, lots of tightening up in notes and rhythm — it essentially got a complete overhaul but the essence stayed and we’re proud of this one..."

Listen to the full song here!