| · While in Toronto touring in support of her 1998 debut album, fatefully named Wishbone, California Girl Eleni Mandell met journalist Ian Pearson, who liked her music so much he started Toronto-based Zedtone Records. Mandell’s four subsequent albums form the complete Zedtone catalogue.
I stumbled upon Eleni Mandell’s second CD, Thrill, in the summer of 2000, and I’ve been a fan of the dark-browed, crimson-lipped, vampy klezmer girl (and her various incarnations) ever since.
Mandell wears music like lingerie, slipping into croonin’ country and out of rock or grunge-tinged jazz with the ease of a skilful seductress. In 2003, she earned L.A. Weekly’s Best Songwriter award (an honour shared with the late Elliott Smith), and her fifth independent album is her most accessible yet.
Afternoon begins with a slow dance, lyrical and nostalgic, and leaps from there into varying brushes with heartache and desire. As temptress or dreamer, rockin’ good-time girl or jilted lover, Mandell’s performance is always convincing. The album shimmers with heat and longing, offering listeners an intimacy and immediacy not often found in record form.
Mandell’s accomplished touring band – Joshua Grange (producer-guitars), Ryan Feves (bass) and Kevin Fitzgerald (drums) – provide just the right amount of sun and shade to give Mandell’s voice the perfect bloom.
If you’re looking for an album to round out your summer collection, get this one and keep it poolside.
|
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.