When the Red King Comes
When the Red King Comes is the second album by the Elephant 6 band Elf Power.[4][5] It is a concept album about the Red King's kingdom. The cover art is taken from a section of an imaginary map called “The Land of Make Believe”, drawn in 1930 by Jaro Hess. A more complete version of the map can be seen in The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands.
When the Red King Comes | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1997 | |||
Genre | Indie pop, indie rock | |||
Label | Arena Rock Recording Co.[1] | |||
Elf Power chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Chicago Tribune | [3] |
"Needles in the Camels Eyes" is a cover of the Brian Eno song.[6]
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that "though still noisy, the improved sound coincides with a sharper focus in the songwriting (that's good) and the first hint of impending mythological obsessions (not so good)."[1] The Chicago Tribune thought that "in Elf Power's hands, psychedelia is a means of transforming personal trauma into a twisted kind of triumph."[3]
AllMusic wrote that "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."[2]
Track listing
All songs written by Andrew Rieger unless otherwise noted.
- "Step Through the Portal..."
- "...Into the Everlasting Time"
- "The Frightened Singers"
- "The Secret Ocean"
- "The Arrow Flies Close"
- "Icy Hands Will Never Melt Away"
- "When the Red King Comes"
- "The Separating Fault"
- "Spectators"
- "Introducing Cosmic Space" (Andrew Rieger, Bryan Helium)
- "The Bengal Parade"
- "Needles in the Camels Eyes" (Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera)
- "...The Silver Lake" (Laura Carter)
- "It's Been a Million Years"
Personnel
- Andrew Rieger - guitars, vocals, flute, zanzitophone, keyboards, bass, percussion
- Laura Carter - keyboards, vocals, Moog synthesizer, zanzithophone, loops
- Bryan Helium - bass, vocals, guitar, sitar, keyboards
- Aaron Wegelin - drums, vocals, percussion
References
- "Elf Power". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- "When the Red King Comes - Elf Power | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- Ryan, Mo (30 Jan 1998). "Elf Power When the Red King Comes". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. 46.
- "Elf Power Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- "The Big Musical World Of Elf Power". MTV News.
- "Elf Power: A rocking foursome". Daily Hampshire Gazette. August 6, 1998. p. 33.