Music for the DMV

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Winner of the 17th Independent Music “Best Concept Album” Award

Listen and purchase now on Spotify, BandCamp, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Pandora, Tidal, Napster, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Saavn, Anghami, KKBox, Down In The Valley, and Shazam.


Music for the DMV has been named to the following Best of 2018 Lists: 

WTUL New Orleans charts:

Review excerpts:

“Kelly’s atmospherics capture the emotional spectrum the human soul can traverse in this squat, beige hell.” – The Wire

“…mirrors the agitation and unease many feel there [at the DMV]. It’s clubby, ambient, expansive and weird. I like it.” – Bandcloud

“Elizabeth Joan Kelly’s music is like a guided meditation for the creatives, for the daydreamers in all of us, and something that helps us escape our immediate surroundings–and by accomplishing that she has made the mundane beautiful.” – Recclective

“New Orleans-based Elizabeth Joan Kelly restates the pleasing ambient calm of Brian Eno’s Music for Airports as a pervasive ambience of anxiety on her Music for the DMV album.” – Concrete Islands

“Taking its title influence from Music For Airports, fifteen tracks see Kelly delve into the extraordinary masses of online found sounds which she treats, manipulates and regurgitates. A simple task on the face of things but what she does here is nothing short of extraordinary and inspiring.” – Louder Than War

“While one would think that relaxing sounds would be the best thing to help survive another license renewal, Kelly uses a variety of shiny textures and bright melodies to instead provide distraction. And there’s plenty of that to be found here, as well as charm, especially in the three tracks classed as Gymnopedies. Best of all, however, is Call My Number, which has an almost comical sense of yearning and absolutely reminds me of that time when the scheduling system crashed at the DMV and I lost my place in line.” – An Earful

“The end result of this digital collage of classical pieces with unique audio treatments is an artistic and detailed sonic work that one need not visit the DMV to enjoy. For those of you who are unfortunate enough to have business to conduct at the DMV, you might want to bring this album with you. The calming and intriguingly arranged music contained therin just might make your stay a little less unpleasant.” – Houdini Mansions

“The tracks range in mood and timbre, with “Bouncyland” being one of the cheerier, more melodic pieces. There’s a hint of playfulness in the bubbly drum machines and keys that would probably make the DMV (or DOR as we call it here in Washington) seem a little bit less of a soul-sucking bureaucratic nightmare.” – Ball of Wax Quarterly

“…the track [“Call My Number”] can simply be termed as beautiful. Soft, gentle tones with an angelic voice make this a stunning end to the album and sees Elizabeth on top form.” – hiapop

“‘Industrial Ambient Prelude’ is Chopin with a house beat. ‘Club Clanger’ is jarringly busy, whereas ‘Bouncyland’ is loads of fun, with an all-drum breakdown that Big Freedia might sample. Many of the rhythms here are inventive enough that you want to hear them outside the 8-bit context, with brighter synths and bigger drums.” – ANTIGRAVITY Magazine

“…interesting electronic music…” – The Letter

“A pretty unusual but wonderful listening session;” “a honest electronic album that you should hear immediately!” –Yeah I Know It Sucks

“Brilliant…” -Independent Music Podcast

“It’s a fun and chaotic, murky…album, you should check out!” –Olivia on Radio Ravioli, WFMU

“Brilliant;” “lovely” –Is This Thing On Podcast

Brian Eno’s Music for Airports aimed to create ambient soundscapes, equally appropriate for listening as they are for ignoring. Airports can be places of great joy and anticipation as travelers leave for vacations or return home after long journeys, and Eno’s soothing sound installations echo this mood.

The Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, however, is not a happy destination for anyone. The closest thing to an eager DMV visitor is a teenager taking their driver’s test, and even that is an experience tinged with anxiety. Music for the DMV, therefore, seeks to mimic Eno’s example of creating background music to fit a specific location, but acknowledges too the inherent agitation and uneasiness associated with a trip to the local vehicle registration and driver’s license office.

Published by elizabethjoankelly

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