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When the Red King Comes

 
Album Review: When the Red King Comes

  • Artist: Elf Power
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1997 10
  • Genre: Rock

Review

As the Elephant 6 catalog continues to expand, it becomes increasingly obvious that many of the label's bands are concerned not merely with creating fresh and exciting music but rather entire mythologies, crafting obscure concept records exploring the intricacies of strange pocket universes. Existing in the musical gray area between Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel -- both of whose members make cameos here -- Elf Power's superb When the Red King Comes is a heady journey to a psychedelic utopia, a travelogue with such destinations as "The Secret Ocean," "The Separating Fault," and "The Silver Lake." As imagined primarily by singer/songwriter Andrew Rieger, the album is a odyssey "Into the Everlasting Time," and true to its word, it seems to exist outside of any obvious era -- the fuzzy, lo-fi production is an Elephant 6 hallmark, but the unique instrumentation (electric horns, pump organs, even Nepalese percussion) and cryptic, stream-of-consciousness wordplay suggest something altogether different; perhaps most telling is When the Red King Comes' cover, a crazed map suggesting something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien fever dream. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Step Through the Portal Andrew Rieger Elf Power (1:57)
Into the Everlasting Time Andrew Rieger Elf Power (1:59)
The Frightened Singers Andrew Rieger Elf Power (:45)
The Secret Ocean Andrew Rieger Elf Power (2:59)
The Aarow Flies Close Andrew Rieger Elf Power (2:37)
Icy Hands Will Never Melt Away Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:26)
When the Red King Comes Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:28)
The Separtating Fault Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:32)
Spectators Andrew Rieger Elf Power (2:19)
Introducing Cosmic Space Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:29)
The Bengal Parade Andrew Rieger Elf Power (2:59)
Needles in the Camel's Eye Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno, Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:01)
....Silver Lake Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:38)
It's Been a Million Years Andrew Rieger Elf Power (3:27)

Credits

Laura Carter (Keyboards), Bryan Holium (Keyboards), Bryan Holium (Guitar), Bryan Holium (Bass), John Fernades (Violin), Laura Carter (Zanzithophone), Julian Kester (Keyboards), Andrew Rieger (Bass), Andrew Rieger (Flute), Andrew Rieger (Guitar), John Fernades (Clarinet), Kevin Barnes (Sitar), Josh NcKay (Shawm), Bryan Holium (Vocals), Andrew Rieger (Zanzithophone), Andrew Rieger (Keyboards), Julian Kester (Vocals), Will Cullen Hart (Guitorgan), Aaron Wegelin (Percussion), Aaron Wegelin (Drums), Aaron Wegelin (Vocals), John Fernades (Vocals), Jeff Mangum (Vocals), Laura Carter (Loops), Andrew Rieger (Percussion), Elf Power (Engineer), David Barbe (Vocals), Dave Wrathgeber (Vocals), Bryan Holium (Sitar), Andrew Rieger (Vocals), Laura Carter (Vocals), Kevin Barnes (Vocals)
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Wikipedia: When the Red King Comes
Top
When the Red King Comes
Studio album by Elf Power
Released 1997
Genre Indie pop/Indie rock
Label Arena Rock Recording Co.
Professional reviews
Elf Power chronology
Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs
(1995)
When the Red King Comes
(1997)
A Dream in Sound
(1999)

When the Red King Comes is the second album by Elephant 6 band Elf Power. It is a concept album about the Red King's kingdom.

Track listing

All songs written by Andrew Rieger unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Step Through the Portal..."
  2. "Into the Everlasting Time"
  3. "The Frightened Singers"
  4. "The Secret Ocean"
  5. "The Arrow Flies Close"
  6. "Icy Hands Will Never Melt Away"
  7. "When the Red King Comes"
  8. "The Separating Fault"
  9. "Spectators"
  10. "Introducing Cosmic Space" (Andrew Rieger; Bryan Helium)
  11. "The Bengal Parade"
  12. "Needles in the Camels Eye..." (Brian Eno)
  13. "...The Silver Lake" (Laura Carter)
  14. "It's Been a Million Years"



 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "When the Red King Comes" Read more