Send "Elysian Fields " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 For 15 years, Brooklyn's Elysian Fields have been reliable purveyors of dream-pop and alt-rock noir. Singer Jennifer Charles exudes a forbidding cocktail-dress cool; her slick presentation conceals uneasy psychological themes. Think Mazzy Star on a serious Bad Seeds binge. The band has collaborated with many leading lights of the American pop avant-garde-- Marc Ribot, John Lurie, John Zorn, and Mike Patton-- while guitarist Oren Bloedow has backed up demanding traditionalists like Dr. John and Lizz Wright. But Elysian Fields remain a cult act in the States, a condition that Last Night on Earth seems unlikely to change.At heart, Elysian Fields are doing what they've always done: recruiting prestigious collaborators (the Antibalas horns, Jeff Buckley drummer Matt Johnson, and members of Bon Iver and Antony and the Johnsons) to back Charles' slinky chanteuse vocals. The group still gets the lead out sometimes: "Red Riding Hood" is a Grinderman-style seether complete with blues harmonica and a croaking Nick Cave impression, and "Chance" bounces on a glinting knife-edge of electric guitar. But more atmospheric styles have risen to prominence, like the foggy old-world folk of "Johnny" and the chamber-pop of "Chandeliers". Unfortunately, this mostly positive evolution comes with a problematic one in Charles' singing style, which is too blurry to work as a focal point. I know this is sacrilege: Charles defines this band, and she can certainly sing. But the exaggeratedly breathy and heavily ornamented style she cultivates here overshadows the diversity of the music with a uniform cloud of affectations. Compare these frilly flutters and meanderings with early songs like "Star" and "Jack in the Box", where Charles carved a svelte, forceful path through the band's chugging alt-era grooves, to hear how her cosmetic decorations sap the music's elemental vitality. She sounds fresh and inspired when she sings a bit straighter, as on "Sleepover", a breezy concoction of guitars, horns, and martial percussion; the title track also accrues a spacious, soulful momentum. Between these dynamic bookends, solid musical ideas are too often dissolved in expressive scribbles. Last Night on Earth should do well with those already invested in Elysian Fields-- and they are legion, especially in Europe-- but newcomers may need to start with 1996's Bleed Your Cedar to figure out what the big deal is supposed to be....full text |
| Consequenceofsound |
| Brooklyn-based art rockers Elysian Fields have returned with their seventh album, Last Night on Earth, a sultry yet ethereal homage to a range of different influences, staying true to the band’s form, yet allowing them to stretch musically. Singer Jennifer Charles and her kitten-voiced charms bring the goods, as does guitarist Oden Bloedow, along with a string of musical guests, including pianist/composer Ed Pastorini, Jeff Buckley’s drummer Matt Johnson, The Antibalas horns, and string players from Bon Iver. Like most Elysian Fields albums, the music centers around Charles’ breathy vocals and the slinky, dark musicianship. But where Last Night on Earth differs is in the subtle exploration of various genres, all done up with poetic and visually-ripe lyrics. The album opens with the nostalgic “Sleepover”, where the dulcet tones combine with the fondly frightening memories of childhood sleepovers. “Take me back home/I really am scared/Take me back home/I miss my mom and my bed,” Charles recalls as the jangly guitar lifts the song up. “Can’t Tell My Friends” hops on an upbeat groove, drawing comparisons to trip-hop flirters Morcheeba, while “Sweet Condenser” borrows a page (pardon the pun) from Led Zeppelin with its slow, acoustic plucking, and breezy, summertime feel, backed by lazy strings that wave like a golden cornfield. The retro feel of “Villain on the Run” hits the sweet spot when the backup vocals reiterate Charles’ purr in classic ’70s style. “Chandeliers” is a soft and sweet piano ballad reminiscent of New Zealand-singer Bic Runga and her reflective acoustics. Elysian Fields even explores their version of folk with “Old, Old Wood”, a beautiful, haunting song that paints pastoral images in your head. Lines like “I forge a path through the thickets and vines” and “drink from the stream where the starlight plays” are gorgeously evocative. The album-closing title track opens with a dreamy, celestial soundscape, accompanied by waning flute and percussion to sway to. Its fervent imagery and hallucinatory vocals feel like slow-dancing during the last night on earth....full text |
| Musicconduit |
| Brooklyn-based art rockers Elysian Fields have returned with their seventh album, Last Night on Earth, a moist nonetheless fragile loyalty to a operation of opposite influences, staying loyal to a band’s form, nonetheless permitting them to widen musically. Singer Jennifer Charles and her kitten-voiced attracts move a goods, as does guitarist Oden Bloedow, along with a fibre of low-pitched guests, including pianist/composer Ed Pastorini, Jeff Buckley’s drummer Matt Johnson, The Antibalas horns, and fibre players from Bon Iver....full text |
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