Search - Elf Power :: Back to the Web

Haunted by Three Ghosts

Wendell Chancellor | Utah | 05/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Three ghosts haunt Elf Power's "Back to the Web."



The first is the ghost of sixties exotic psychedelia. It conjures up that time when the gods inspired heroic mortals to make epic journeys to the east. These heroes brought back with them unfamiliar tunings, new instruments, and complex polyrhythms and time signatures. George led the Beatles to India ("Within You and Without You"). Led Zeppelin traveled to Morocco ("Immigrant Song," "Tangerine"). The Rolling Stones recorded "Paint It Black." They inspired everyone from Donovan to the Hollies. This ghost gives "Back to the Web" its edge.



The second is ghost of Pet Sounds Brian Wilson--sweetness and sonic experimentation.



Over it all hovers the ghost of Elephant 6--the now-dead collective that made music like it was 1969 (only way, way cooler). Their music is easily categorized as lo-fi, Brian Wilson, experimental, psychedelic, sixties, ambient, folk, noise, singing-saw pop. If you don't know what I mean, pick up "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel or "Black Foliage" by the Olivia Tremor Control.



Now that E6 is dead, who carries the Elephant 6 banner? After listening to "Back to the Web", I believe that Elf Power is the true heir. First, the line-up has enough first-tier E6ers to secure its bloodline. Second, with this CD, Elf Power has the depth, complexity, generosity, and experimentation that characterized the best of the Elephant 6 classics. This ain't no Bird-with-the-Candy-Bar-Head Elf Power (I loved that Elf Power too); this is a deeper, more durable Elf Power--and band with more to say.



Those three ghosts (exotic sixties psychedelia, Pet Sounds, and Elephant 6) explain most of the success of "Back to the Web," but not all of it. Another key element is that Elf Power is (and always has been) a drums and percussion-driven band. (This distinguishes them from the rest of E6.) When you buy "Back to the Web," listen to the drums. They are mixed to the front of most tracks, creating a driving foundation for whatever is laid in on top.



Elephant 6 is dead. Long live Elf Power.

"

Folk elves

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 11/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Elf Power is one of the bands that survived the collapse of the Elephant 6 collective, and still sticks to that wonderful, fuzzy psychedelic sound. "Back to the Web" is a bit of a departure for them, with a sort of dusty folky sound, but still quite pleasant in a low-key way.



"Lovely daughter/this was just where I wanted to be... nothing spoken/just the sound of the rain on the sea/come lie down with me/and sing my song," Andrew Rieger murmurs, over a Renaissance-faire folk tune. It's a drowsy, pastoral little song, and while it's not psychedelic or very fuzzy, it is enchanting.



They continue in that vein, although they add more of a fuzz sound in some of the songs. There's swirling indie-rock, haunting ballads with a ghostly sound, catchy acoustic pop, and shimmering little pop tunes that harken back to their best psychedelica. Not to mention a really jarring banjo interlude.



The whole album is sort of pleasant and relaxed, like lying on a grassy field during a sprinkling rain. While Elf Power seems to be taking some cues from REM and the college rock sound, they sound a lot more laid-back than most such bands. And no, they haven't totally abandoned fuzz-rock or sweet folk.



The music relies heavily on soft acoustic guitar, and buzzing basslines running under everything else. It's catchy, but not in a dancey way. And there's plenty of rippling keyboard and smooth, twining strings to keep the music from getting boring. The big weak spot is that bloody banjo. No matter how prettily you play it, a banjo is too sharp for this mellow music.



Rieger's smooth voice flows over the music, with a childlike quality that keeps the lyrics from seeming as twee as they could. "I thought I heard you say/the end is on the way/I thought I heard you sing/a million lovely things," he croons over a catchy melody, apparently channelling a folkier Wayne Coyne. Not bad at all.



Elf Power is in good form in "Back to the Web," and while this isn't as fascinatingly acidic as their previous albums, it is pleasant folky-rock music. Worth checking out."

Ye olde sonick shoppe: spiffed up, slicked down

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 07/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This takes a while to sink in, and against their whole discography it'd be more like 3.5 stars, but since the other two reviews (a five and a three) average to 4, I balance the norm! However, direct in its delivery and relative economy as it is, this is not their strongest album. Not until the final track does the earlier sound of EP return, the quasi-minstrel side with layered and exotic instrumentation. Honestly, the difficulty I think holds back EP from wider acclaim still has always been too much reliance on Andrew Riegen's lead vocals--on single songs they can be tolerated, but for me they tend to get whiny-sounding over the course of an album, even one as short as this at 35 minutes for a dozen songs. The songs seem to take their time despite their brevity, and there is depth lurking in the grooves; it's just that the offerings on BTTW feel more polished so as to appeal to a wider crowd of passers-by--as if window displays--whereas early albums were akin to the amateurish looking but adeptly assembled curios what you'd find tucked away dusty at the back of ye olde sonick shoppe.



I can't blame any veteran indie band for this. Yet I must point it out to those expecting a reprise of an Elephant 6 ambiance from a decade ago. This is simpler music. Here, the instruments seem more downplayed, not surprising to listeners of "Walking with the Beggar Boys," an album that showed them breaking their earlier mold in favor of more of an REM evocation--not an imitation...although on "Back to the Web," a couple of the catchiest tunes are soundalikes for that other band from Athens GA. While the "Creatures" album showed the band in that transitional stage between their earlier folk and their incorporation of a brighter, pithier, and more accessible pop-folk sound that cleared some of the cobwebs that made their earlier music both more challenging and more muted. On "Back," the band does not assert itself as much; like the previous two albums, they have stripped away some of the veneer that I liked, but that probably kept some listeners at a distance from what may have sounded to them too twee or fey a style of folk-rock.



EP are one of my favorite bands, and it's gratifying to hear them still at it after so long and after the trends have moved on. This album does hold its best for the last few songs; the others are paced with not enough regard for sequence, and tend to blur more--again given the vocalist's limitations and the greater prominence given singing over playing in this production--into more generic-sounding efforts. I do wish the band well, and it sounds like they still have some stamina in them--the last track rewards your patience with the earlier and sometimes slicker (by comparison only!) songs. I may sound more critical than praising, but if you're reading this you may already be pleased by EP's earlier career anyway! I merely wanted to explain how this album compares to EP's past product. This album (like its two predecessors) may be a good place, however, for a newcomer to EP to begin, for it is an easier listen, and from here working backward might draw a casual consumer into a faithful fan."