Ten years ago, Athens, Georgia was to indie rock what Montreal is now. Or was, five minutes ago. In Montreal over yet? Digression aside, Elf Power was one of the second wave Elephant 6 bands that got some attention in the wake of the success of Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, and Apples in Stereo. Their album “The Winter Is Coming” is a masterpiece of low-fi psychedelica, which I played on near-endless repeat during the fall of 2000 after dropping out of graduate school. Maybe that’s why lyrics like, “The winter is coming/and you have no time to waste” held such meaning.
Several months later, I was in Athens, GA, and after Elf Power played at the 40 Watt Club, I approached Andrew Rieger, the lead singer to ask him if the song “Embrace The Crimson Tide” was a celebration of menstrual sex, but didn’t have the guts… I got as far as saying, “Is ‘Embrace the Crimson Tide’ about… y’know…” and he said, “The football team? A lot of people ask me that…” Oh well.
After “The Winter Is Coming,” Elf Power fell off my radar for a while, until Scott put their forthcoming album “Back to the Web” in my hands. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Elf Power after so long, but I was pleasantly surprised. Their sound is much smoother than it was six years ago, but it sounds less like they’ve gone soft and more like they are aging gracefully. I really like the song “King of Earth” for its classic Elf Power LOTR-geek lyrics and because it was during this song that I was thinking, “Aw, man, no more woodwinds?” about two seconds before the saxophone kicked in.
Elf Power – “King of Earth” (MP3 Link Expired)
Check out the band’s MySpace page for four more streaming tracks off the new album. If I ever bump into Andrew again, I will ask him if “Back the Web” is about having to resort to internet porn again after a breakup.
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I’m pretty sure that a sax isn’t a woodwind…it’s a brass instument with a reed…but I’m not band geek,…?
But thanks for posting the song. It sounds great. I loved “The Winter Is Coming.” People would do well to track down a copies of “A Dream In Sound” and “When The Red King Comes.” Both are really amazing.
I was a band geek, too, but I thought instruments with reeds were by definition woodwinds. Isn’t a flute a woodwind too?
Wikipedia backs me up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwind#Types_of_woodwind_instruments
I did NOT know that the English Horn was a woodwind.
sax is a woodwind. i had to sit next to sax player in jazz band and i played clarinet. holla!
ahh that’s agood song. thanks, i’ve been a EP fan for years and they never cease to surprise and do new fun things. also live, they always do alotta fun covers, punky stuff, surprisingly. i think last time i saw them, they did more covers than their own stuff.
saxes = woodwinds.
elf power = good.
jed = high score holder on the ms. pac-man machine at the 40 watt back in 2001. i saw it with my own eyes.
heh…”steaming” tracks. mmmh, that good huh?
ELF POWER is playing augusta, georgia on saturday at my place….THE SOUL BAR….
if i take pictures & interview the band, can i post it on here?
i’ll ask andrew about crimson tide & the web, fer sure….
also, john fernandez of olivia tremor control has been playing with elf power the last few times i’ve seen them….
opening the show is augusta’s own THE CUBISTS….
check it all out at:
http://www.soulbar.com
gracias!
elf power played to about 40 people at the knitting factory in november. they were really good. i don’t know why more people didn’t come out to see them.
j. mangum sang, too. omfg!
Yeah, I saw them at the Warehouse Next Door in DC with a small crowd, also very good. my name is andrew too.
Elf Power is one of my top 5 bands ever. Their last album was absolutely incredible, and I’m surprised you didn’t hear anything from it. They’ve actually improved in every album since “Winter” although they’re quite different now.
Athens 10 years ago=Montreal now?
What about 1979-1985?
Sure, Elephant 6 was something, but all of those bands combined couldn’t carry Michael Stipe’s eyeliner pencil. Or Kate Pearson’s, for that matter.
I wasn’t implying that Athens’ peak was 10 years ago. Just that 10 years ago, all you needed to get a little attention was a place in the Athens scene, sorta like how all sorts of bands from Montreal are getting attention now because they are from the home of Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire.
I admit, i expected a band named Elf Power to be a lot more annoying and gimmicky. This keeping an open mind thing pays off occasionally.
Get your ass down to the soul bar and support elfpower people,they rock the house