Elf Power Vainly Clutching At Phantom Limbs 1999 Arena Rock Neutral Milk Hotel
€
26
$
30
€ 26
Sold For
May 7, 2024
Sold Date
Jun 11, 2013
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1
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Germany
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Description
rare debut album original released 1995 on amputated songs, this is a later 1999 arena rock recordings pressing comes with insert, looks like never played allover mint-
Elf Power – Vainly Clutching At Phantom Limbs
Label: Arena Rock – AR-013 Format: Vinyl, LP, ReissueLand: US Veröffentlicht: 2000 Genre: Rock Stil: Lo-Fi, Indie Rock
Trackliste
A1 Pioneer MansionA2 Temporary Arm
A3 All Your Experiments
A4 Finally Free
A5 Drug Store
A6 Loverboy's Demise
B1 Slither Hither
B2 Circular Malevolence
B3 When The Serpents Approach
B4 Surgery
B5 Vainly Clutching At Phantom Limbs
B6 Arachnid Dungeon Attack
Mitwirkende
- Cello – Eric Ledford (tracks: 1)
- Drums – Laura Carter (tracks: 2)
- Guitar – Raleigh Hatfield (tracks: 1)
- Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Drums, Organ, Flute – Andrew Rieger
- Vocals – Dave Rathgeber (tracks: 10)
Anmerkungen
Recorded in 1994 in Athens, GA. Originally self-released (1995) and then released by Drug Racer (1996). Inscribed on inside of Side One "I miss you so much flesh arm oh god!"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 underlying ethic behind the lo-fi revolution started in the late '80s by such seminal subterranean bands as the Pixies, Sonic Youth, and later, Pavement, is that crudely economical, more analog-based techniques of recording lay the music bare, creating a pure experience for the ear as sound was meant to be heard, and forcing the artist to rely more on his or her creativity, rather than gloss or a "fix it in the mix" sensibility. This is the badge and battle cry of those who feel that glossy, radio-ready production only serves to tame the feral spirit and soul of the music, and when it works (as is shown by many other members of the Elephant 6 collective) it can produce a captivatingly personal album experience for the listener like no other, but when it goes awry, without the gossamer sheen of that same polish to smooth the sting of rockier terrains, that same listener can be in for one hopelessly excruciating ride. Elf Power's 1995 debut, Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs, roughly falls somewhere in between these two destinations. On one hand, Andrew Rieger has a definite melodic talent that gives most of the material here an inherent listenability despite its slovenly intent, and regardless of the reigning juvenile weirdness of the lyrics, several of the better songs manage to make lasting first impressions ("Finally Free," "Circular Malevolence," and the title track being the best of these). Furthermore, there is strange, experimental affection surrounding the songs that borders on the mystically surreal, and if nothing else, is intriguing enough in itself to make the album worthwhile; this is especially true on later versions of the disc that include the five songs consisting of the group's Winterhawk EP. The problem here is that the songs are so poorly recorded (even more so than most lo-fi projects), they aren't really done any justice by an approach of such defiant trashiness, and Rieger's songwriting talents only serve to make the frequent obstructions of sonic disarray and derangement that much more frustrating. One has to wonder what Elf Power could do with the production genius of someone like Robert Schneider (from the better-known Elephant 6 band, the Apples in Stereo) behind them. Fortunately, all this slapdash procedure is easily excusable when one takes into consideration the fact that this is merely the debut release of a band who would go on to see their vision bear much greater fruition with their next album, When the Red King Comes, so in the end, while everything here does sound like a really cheap home recording, it paints a very interesting early portrait.
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