 |
Athens' musical mainstays Vic Chesnutt and Elephant 6 originals Elf Power will hit the road this fall in support of their collaborative release, Dark Developments (Orange Twin). In addition to performing songs together from Dark Developments, Elf Power will open each night playing tunes from their most recent release In A Cave (Rykodisc).
Recorded over the course of a winter by Vic and Derek Almstead in Chesnutt's own attic studio, Dark Developments revels in the intimate, home-recorded atmosphere you'd expect from an Athenian union like this. Elf Power's tripped-out pop-smarts provide the contradictory musical notions that never allow the album to sway too far in one bleak direction or another: it's the friction between Chesnutt's shadowy worldview and the inventive bounce and bray of Elf Power's joyful chemistry that buoys the album, provides its freshness, and makes for highly rewarding repeated listens. Dark Developments stands as a classic addition to the legendary local pantheon, and, most importantly, as a brilliant statement endemic of a natural partnership between two separately-evolved and vital musical entities that never feels forced, flashy or false.
Elf Power's ninth album, In A Cave, blasts them past the familiar territories of their previous records and lands them on exciting new terrain. Granted, the Elves' sound is still founded on the bedrock attributes that make them memorable: leader Andrew Rieger's otherworldly lyrical stances, their easy way with melody, and an overall eclectic approach towards making music. In A Cave finds Elf Power filtering their powerful live sound through varied, experimental recording processes and approaches; the new album plays like a spirited, exploratory series of treatments on the tried-and-true Elf Power sound.
Catch Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power live at the following:
October 29 Oxford, MS Proud Larry's
October 30 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jack's
November 1 Dallas, TX Club Dada
November 2 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
November 3 Austin, TX The Parish
November 5 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Brewing Company
November 7 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
November 8 Phoenix, AZ Modified
November 9 San Diego, CA Casbah
November 10 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
November 11 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
November 12 Sacramento, CA Blue Lamp
November 13 Eugene, OR Sam Bond's Garage
November 16 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
November 17 Boise, ID Neurolux
November 18 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
November 19 Denver, CO Hi Dive
November 21 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Saloon
Check out the “And How" MP3 from new album...
