Elf Power - The Winter Is Coming LP 2000 Sugar Free Records Neutral Milk Hotel
€
33
$
38
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Description
rare 4th album on elephant6 / sugar free records comes with insert, not the best pressing of vinyl, but plays fine allover mint-
A1
Embrace The Crimson Tide 4:10
A2
Skeleton 2:09
A3
The Great Society 2:12
A4
The Winter Is Coming 3:30
A5
Wings Of Light 4:51
A6
The Sun Is Forever 4:07
A7
People Underneath 3:17
B1
Green Sea Days 2:14
B2
The Naughty Villain 3:48
B3
Leopard's Teeth 3:28
B5
Bird's In The Backyard 3:27
B6
100,000 Telescopes 4:47
B7
The Albatross 10:02
The Athens, GA-based Elf Power emerged as part of the second wave of bands linked to the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective, a coterie of likeminded lo-fi indie groups -- including the Apples (In Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Olivia Tremor Control -- who shared musicians, ideas, and sensibilities. Formed by singers/multi-instrumentalists Andrew Rieger and Laura Carter, Elf Power debuted in 1995 with the self-released Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs, followed a year later by the Winter Hawk EP, which heralded the additions of bassist Bryan Helium and drummer Aaron Wegelin. The excellent When the Red King Comes appeared in late 1997, and two years later the group returned with A Dream in Sound; also in the spring of 1999, a series of live dates with the Olivia Tremor Control yielded the tour-exclusive EP Come On. Winter Is Coming followed a year later. In 2002, the group released the conceptual record Creatures (which saw the amicable departure of bassist Bryan Helium) and Nothing's Going to Happen, a collection of covers ranging from Gary Numan to the Misfits. Two years later, the group returned with Walking with the Beggar Boys, a decidedly more straightforward offering that included new members Eric Harris (formerly of the Olivia Tremor Control) and Craig McQuiston (formerly of the Glands). After switching to Rykodisc, Elf Power issued their eighth album, Back to the Web, in 2006. In a Cave followed two years later. In 2010, Elf Power returned with a self-titled studio effort dedicated to the band's longtime collaborator Vic Chestnutt, who had passed away in 2009.
The Winter Is Coming continues the darker, more complex sound Elf Power forged on its landmark album A Dream in Sound, enriching its brand of tripped-out pop with more emotional depth. Recorded over the course of nine months at the band's home studio, The Winter Is Coming seems mellow; however, melancholy and tense undercurrents lay just beneath its surface. Dense, droning songs like "Embrace the Crimson Tide" and "Wings of Light" are some of the best examples of the band's increasingly intricate sound, but "The Sun Is Forever," "Birds in the Backyard," and the title track prove that Elf Power hasn't sacrificed its catchiness for experimentalism's sake. Though the slightly silly bubblegum march "The Great Society" -- which almost sounds like an Elephant 6 parody -- seems out of place with the rest of the album's tone, the fuzzy-yet-brooding "Skeleton" more than makes up for it. Though it may not be quite as immediate or coherent as A Dream in Sound, The Winter Is Coming marks another step forward for this consistent -- and consistently evolving -- band.
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