Elour (pronounced "allure") is what Elizabeth Ghandour categorizes as Femm Rock. Elizabeth’s direct lyrics, diverse background and classically trained voice, combined with Mike Herold's soaring electric guitar, Joe Scarpellino's tasty bass and Ryan Vee's creative drumming, yields a sound that's raucous and rebellious, and yet very stylish.
Growing up in rural Minnesota, the daughter of an American mother and Lebanese father, Elizabeth's early musical exposure was way outside the mainstream: the musicals her grandmother loved and the Lebanese folk music her father loved. Her singing ability was recognized at an early age, and lessons came along with it, adding opera and art songs to a musical palette that was already off the beaten path. It seemed obvious all through her childhood and her coursework at St. Olaf college that her destiny was opera or musical theater, and indeed, shortly after college she moved to New York City for just that purpose.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the aria. Passing by a New York City cafe, she heard folk music and was drawn to it irresistibly. Though she'd never played guitar nor written music, she was soon heavily into both. She headed back to Minnesota and added her sound to Minneapolis' rich musical mix with her Americana band, The Heighburners (pronounced "hay burners"). After releasing a couple of EPs she noticed some of her writing just didn't fit the Americana mold.
The new sounds were more rocking, angstier, moodier and more directly concerned with her experiences as a female in the big wide world. Though The Heighburners remain extant, Elour was created to present this new material. In November, 2019, the eponymous first Elour EP was released, with four songs. While the EP includes full instrumentation and high production value, Elour live is usually a three-piece consisting of Elizabeth on rhythm guitar, loead vocals, and vocal pedals, Mike Harold on lead guitar and backing vocals, Joe Scarpellino on bass and backing vocals, and Ryan Vee on drums. The subject matter often enough is heartbreak or relationships gone awry, but the performances are energetic and fun, at times even playful! But always with attitude.
Elour will be releasing their debut full length album, Blood Running, on April 21, 2023. The first single, "Fade," will be released on February 24, 2023, along with a video.