The Verse’s Lennon Craig previews The Little Unsaid’s show on the 28th October at the Printers Playhouse in Eastbourne.
The fragile minimalism that echoes around The Little Unsaid’s music has been credited with providing riveting emotional experiences to audiences up and down the country on their relentless touring schedule.
Personal trauma can often provide the catalyst for artistic expression, just as often as it can be a debilitating factor in someone’s work. For John Elliott, the multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter behind The Little Unsaid, dealing with trauma has managed to encompass both of these possibilities over a short space of time.
Whilst caring for a loved one recovering from a suicide attempt, Elliott was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering his own emotional breakdown. He explains, “all your emotional and physical energy goes into trying to get that person back on their feet and getting sick with worry. I have no regrets about that, but it meant I didn’t have the capacity to see my own health deteriorating until it was too late. Everything in my life crumbled, and it took a long time for me to find any meaning in all that pain so that I could start to piece it all back together again.”
Fast-forward a year and Elliott and his band are back in the studio working on their fourth crowd-funded album with Radiohead engineer Graeme Stewart. Minimalist electronics, hauntingly androgynous vocals and hypnotic strings combine on lead single Symptomatic generate a deeply melancholy sound that disguises the hope within, in a way fitting of someone who is on the road to recovery themselves.
Despite the tribulations, the band are garnering a reputation as a must-see live act, and are set to take in both Eastbourne and Brighton on their forthcoming UK autumn/winter tour. Tickets are priced between £5-10 and are available from the band’s official website. The Verse is offering two lucky Freshers tickets to the Eastbourne show – visit us at Freshers Fairs next week for more details!
