Two cronies of NYC’s Elk City; Renée LoBue and Ray Ketchem are moving onward in their running which was started by their former band Melting Hopefuls in early 90s. After Melting Hopefuls disbanded, they joined arms with Peter Langland-Hassan to release two critically acclaimed albums under the name of Elk City. With collaborative and compatible singing and song writing of LoBue and Langland-Hassan, Elk City draw considerable attention from indie quarters. All in all, it was all fine back then untill Langland-Hassan left the band into a three-year silence. Fans began to wonder, “what was going to happen then?”…
Despite all the potential disadvantages of three year disappearance, Elk City are now back with album #3: New Believers, stronger than ever - teaming with former Luna (whom they toured together with earlier) guitarist Sean Eden and Lovelies bassist Barbara Endes. I can sincerely tell that New Believers is well worth all the wait; a more matured and confident Elk City showing off with LoBue’s leading lyrics and Ketchem’s producing the whole thing in a crystal clear sound quality! A well-done, tasty dish; signed by the cronies handling guitar and drums. A soft, positive flight from classic boy-girl pop singing to female vocals!
Elk City’s talent of combining modern folk with dream pop is something we already knew. It’s not news for fans either that Renée LoBue’s vocals are reminding us masters like Patti Smith, David Bowie and there is an accommodating PJ Harvey feel to her singing… May I go even further and dare to say it is a bit like an ULTRA soft Skin especially in Nighttime, Silver Lawyers and Totally Free? There I’ve said it! Whomever it recalls you, she made a great job at both vocalizing and writing those 11 pieces. Thanks to Ketchem’s delicate contributions, New Believers is a work of pop to be appreciated. A balanced work blending Camera Obscura type of twee folk, Dinosaur Jr, The Jesus and Mary Chain type of dream pop and Pixies (aka one of their main influences!) type of rock’n roll together. With a respectable amount of pop fragments for sure…
First song in the album Cherries In The Snow which simply is a catchy pop song, and White Walls make you think as if you’ve just put The Long Blondes CD on accidentally. Same poppy intro, similar strong female voice and extreme catchiness! Though, before too long you realize it is rather something finding its own feet in a hype-less kind of direction! LoBue’s cheerful “la la la”s, and inspiring lyrics in “Cherries In The Snow” keep the tune very Elk City; advising you to stick to what you want, follow your dreams, don’t give up.. Naturally, this song is meant to be a first single! If only the video could be something more impressive instead of cherries on a chessboard.
Little Brother, Los Cruzados, Melody and Magic Door are the tunes where the twee-folk interactions can be easily felt. Sincere melodies enriched with Hammond organ makes it impossible not to think of the lovely Camera Obscura. Los Cruzados specially, is one of the best bits of the album. Starting with a sparkling bright, sincere intro (again thanks to Ketchem!); going on with a deam folk timbes, you may find yourself singing along “Hallelujah” with LoBue’s softened vocals.
Silver Lawyers, My Type of Criminal and Nighttime are sticking out with the weighted placid ambience and shoegazer intros which are reflecting softer side of LoBue’s vocals. Clear, impressives beats wording out are adorable. I’d have called these tracks as modern samples for shoegazing if the sound was less polished and lucid. It’s not a complaint at all though. I am positively satisfied with My Type of Criminal especially, where dream pop glows positively along with crashing vocals.
Elk City’s tendency for 60s music is most noticable in You Got Me. Following a Ben Folds sounding intro, you start hearing “woo woo”s just like The Beatles songs we all have kept in our sub memories for ages.
More I listen to this sucessful easy-listening pop-rock album, I can fairly say it’s very likely for LoBue to make her place at higher lines of top female vocals lists soon. Well she really should! My personal selections Los Cruzados, My Type of Criminal, Melody and Nighttime won’t prove me wrong.
You know melodies make you remember summery days in a dreamy way? Melodies make you realize how far away them summer days are now. Melodies make you get used to autumn remembering sunny memories while a cool breeze is stroking your hair.. Something reflecting blues of remembering the near past, something familiar but also forgotten in the cupboard. Make you want to focus on the lyrics desperately. Not that the melodies are summery or something. It’s because they involve warm beats hidden under gloomy chords and sensitive lyrics. Like some sincere folk tones holing up behind 60s, 70s dream pop. Something warming and wrenching your heart at the same time. This is how I feel about “New Believers” in these last days of summer. And I believe you’ll do the same following the melancholic dreamer inside yourself. Just listen and see!..
Note: Elk City are going to be in the new Pixies tribute album along with bands like; Mogwai, British Sea Power, Ok Go, They Might Be Giants and The Rosebuds. Sounds like a blast, isn’t it?!
-Champers xx
