The title track from From Out Of Nowhere, the 2019 release from Jeff Lynne’s ELO, showcases familiar ELO tropes with a single guitar line melody, jangly guitar rhythm, orchestral spikes, and high harmonies — very reminiscent of the Beatles. Where Lynne specifically wants to fly to in the lyric is never made clear, but the optimism of the sound and lyrics provide a lilting kick-off.
Other standouts like “Sci-Fi Woman,” with its weird Theremin-like flips and guitar fills, follow a similar pattern. There’s the blues progression of “One More Time,” which features Richard Tandy on an all-too-brief piano solo. “Songbird” is probably the most interesting tune on the record, with its low and slow blues organ, and Lynne pretty much keeping all the ELO-isms in the background.
Yes, Jeff Lynne was the main songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of the original Electric Light Orchestra, and is currently the keeper of its flame. But what we get on From Out Of Nowhere is Lynne working with a sound and production — good and bad — that’s not really ELO. Consequently, this album delivers competent tunes following a formula that was far more compelling the first time around.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
