Two songs, two emotional worlds, one completely distinctive voice. London-based power alternative duo Joel X Eleanor have released “Garden Plot / Something Strange,” a double single that moves between obsession and tenderness with the kind of precision that defines everything they do. Both autistic and intensely detail-driven, the pair approach songwriting where every lyric, melody, and sound must earn its place.
“Garden Plot” opens with apparent warmth and slowly reveals something darker underneath. Eleanor wrote the song after Joel asked her for flowers, the idea being to plant a garden that blooms year after year rather than offer cut flowers that die. Joel’s brooding production reframes that sweetness into fixation, transforming domestic imagery into something quietly unsettling. Recorded partly at Joel’s grandmother’s house in Birkenhead and an AirBnB in Derby, the track even incorporates a Christmas tree made from aluminium cones as percussion, and carries a whispered line from Hungarian poet Attila József. The video, filmed on the streets of Camden and Walthamstow, brings that tension to life with full commitment.
“Something Strange” moves in the opposite direction. Softer and more vulnerable, the track captures the disorienting adjustment of sharing your life with someone for the first time, that moment when solitude becomes companionship. Eleanor’s layered contralto vocals guide the emotional weight while Joel’s production holds space rather than fills it.
The pair cut their teeth between 2022 and 2025 as London underground rock band Sweet Anna before stepping forward as Joel X Eleanor. Their sonic reference points run from Radiohead and Muse to The Smashing Pumpkins and the harmonic richness of London’s modern jazz scene. Mixed and mastered by Julie Bartley at Rolling Audio in Newcastle, both tracks sit heavy, melodic, and unmistakably their own.
Live Dates:
June 6 – Canterbury, UK – HMV
September 12 – Matlock, UK – Spectrum Festival