Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Just who is Dove Ellis? Over the past month, a 22-year-old from Galway has commanded a ceaseless stream of five-star, international reviews for his self-produced debut album. But for all that, very little is known of Dove Ellis. You won’t find any interviews with him online, or any of his music on streaming sites beyond the album, Blizzard, which arrived in early December. On the content of that record alone, he has close to five million streams on Spotify.

Born in Galway, Ellis relocated to Manchester and cut his teeth gigging in London. He played a handful of now mythical gigs at Brixton venue, the Windmill, a buzzy DIY spot that was pivotal in nascent days for the likes of Black Midi and Black Country, New Road.

Prior to Blizzard’s release, Ellis opened for New York band Geese on their US tour dates. Led by frontman Cameron Winter (who is not dissimilar stylistically to Ellis), Geese experienced their own meteoric rise in 2025 courtesy of a left-field album, Getting Killed, that catapulted them to the frontier of alternative guitar music.

Many throw Geese in with the Strokes – indie-rock pioneers that bulldoze all around them with waves of charisma, and a new take on an old formula. If Getting Killed achieves that sort of accelerated buzz, Blizzard could be considered its little, indie-folk sister.

A minute and a half into the album, as opening track Little Hope Left arrives at its chorus, the acoustic guitar line staggers into a waltz, a simple beat kicks in and Ellis’s harmonies follow, propping up a beguiling melody and stretching each word with feeling:

‘Yeah, soon they come down/ Wings and a word/ Calling aloud for melody/ Now everybody be here in the room/ Now is the fake/ The real is the word’.

It promises a sophistication that Blizzard delivers on throughout. As Little Hope Left fades into black and Pale Song introduces itself, transient ornamental notes decorate the switch.

There are shades of Alex G in the production, with minimalism and abundance possible in equal measure. Blizzard’s clutter is fundamental to its charm, squeals and squeaks leaving space for hypnotism in the more accessible guitar and piano lines when they arrive.

Pictured: Dove Ellis…acclaimed album. Photo: Xander Lewis.