Pitchfork: Elf Power Taps Ex-Olivia Tremor Control, Glands Personnel For New Album

Elf Power Taps Ex-Olivia Tremor Control, Glands Personnel For New Album
Band's tremors and thyroid condition now in check, thank you very much

[Posted Wednesday, January 14th, 2004 02:20:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Athens, GA's Elf Power will release Walking with the Beggar Boys on April 6th. The album, which will be out on the Orange Twin label, will be the first to feature new members Eric Harris (formerly of Olivia Tremor Control) on guitar and Craig McQuiston (formerly of The Glands) on bass. The addition of the new members has apparently ushered in a bit of a stylistic change for the band, who has embraced more "traditional" indie rock lyrics this time around instead of their usual Dungeons-and-Dragons-psychedelic-freak-out variety. Instead, you can expect to hear love songs, psuedo-political songs about advertising and media, and various other topics that J.R.R. Tolkien wouldn't touch with a 10-foot wizard's staff.

The album is said to cover a range of styles musically as well, from sleazy glam-rock stompers to psychedelic electronica. One highlight promises to be the title track (described as a "blown-out Southern boogie romp"), which is based on a true story involving an encounter with a gang of homeless children in Warsaw, and features double-teamed vocals by Elf Power's Andrew Rieger and Athens folk legend Vic Chesnutt. Tracklist:

01 Never Believe
02 Walking with the Beggar Boys
03 Drawing Flies
04 The Stranger
05 Hole in My Shoe
06 The Cracks
07 Evil Eye
08 Don't Let It Be
09 Invisible Men
10 Empty Pictures
11 Big Thing

Walking with the Beggar Boys will be the band's first album of original material on Orange Twin, as 2002's Creatures was on SpinArt, and much of the band's earlier work was released by Arena Rock Recording Co. Orange Twin was responsible, however, for 2002's covers album Nothing's Going to Happen which found the band performing songs by the Misifts, Bad Brains, Roky Erikson, Hüsker Dü, and many others.

Orange Twin is really a perfect match for Elf Power's hippie-meets-punk attitude, as much of the proceeds from Orange Twin releases go to the Orange Twin Conservation Community, a 150-acre woodland area about five miles from downtown Athens. The area, which was once a Girl Scout camp, is being converted into a "self sustainable, low impact village and nature preserve." Sounds like the perfect setting for a wicked D&D; game. I'll be the DM if you bring the bong.