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After their well-received 1998 debut, Information Changer
(which will be reissued this year by Absolutely Kosher),
the Philadelphia four-piece known as Eltro has returned
with Velodrome, a quiet little eleven-track blending
of fuzzy guitars, spacey electronics, funky beats, and lovely
female vocals, taking inspiration from many different directions
to create something that is remarkably coherent. This time
around, they have taken a more textured, airy approach to
creating a subtle pop record, and have come up with something
that manages to be dizzying and confusing, yet gentle and
addictive at the same time.
Eltro plays a type of psychedelic rock that has been done
before, but they manage to breathe life into it, via the well-executed
distribution of many complex elements. Songs that are structurally
rather simple and could possibly be described as slow and
droning are revitalized by quirky dance grooves and breathy,
gorgeous vocals from Diana Prescott. Fuzzed-out guitars
from Jorge Sandrini add another intriguing layer, but
the more spacey aspects of each track are kept under control
by the more structured ones, making for a hazy, yet tempered
listening experience.
Pop occasionally takes a few steps to the forefront on tracks
like "Before" and the results are exceptional. Some
tracks, like "Three Gorges, Damn" and "Center",
are more drawn out, and border on tedious and boring, while
the electronics occasionally dance to the edge of irritability,
like with the otherwise excellent "Say It" and "Denver
International." But for the most part, the band finds
a clever middle ground between pop and psychedelia. Somehow,
for the span of eleven tracks, Velodrome manages to
run circles around your head, while still leaving you with
something catchy enough to lodge itself in your head all day
long.
-Eddie Fournier
Track Listing:
- Some Vital Function
- Say It
- Come To Me In Silence
- Three Gorges, Damn
- Vera Wang
- Center
- Ether
- Niagara
- Escaping Flatland
- Before
- Denver International
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