Eleni Mandell--C or D?

anyone else listened to her new record, artificial fire? it's lovely, but it's got this one song, "tiny waist," that i cannot stop playing. the way the melody slowly descends belies just how happy of a song it really is...when i listen to it, i picture someone walking down the street in the rain without an umbrella, smiling ear-to-ear anyway, like nothing can kill his buzz. it actually recalls one of my favorite movies, punch-drunk love. i imagine this is the song playing in barry's head after he kisses lena for the first time.

anyone else digging this?

I liked "Miracle of Five" OK and pull it out occasionally. Not earth-shattering - there's some special magic that doesn't quite happen - but pleasant, and slightly, nicely, offcentre.

i'm not feeling this album as much as thrill but i'm def liking a lot of the songs - 'needle & thread' and the title track especially.

Anyone heard her 2004 album Afternoon? I totally missed that one.

Afternoon is the only one I own, because it has "American Boy" (a v. wonderful song) on it. I've heard some of the others, but that's the only one I ever wanted to buy.

Saw her live when living in Nashville around that time (2004-ish), cool way to spend an evening.

i'd kill to see her live, but she doesnt appear to have any US dates coming up?

i think she's lives in my neighborhood

ask her tour upstate ny!

to tour, ugh

laughing and laughing in my old apartment
but that's not what lovers do
they siiiiiigh, and hope for the future

oh wow, never knew there was a thread for her -- Artificial Fire is soooo fucking good, so many different types of arrangements and instrumentation that i wouldn't have expected from her having only heard Miracle Of Five before, i swear that last song is a spot-on impression of early Elvis Costello & The Attractions. i got this on eMusic and so don't have liner notes, who's in her band on this album?

al click on "band" from this link

http://www.elenimandell.com/mandell.html

ah, cool that she's still playing with Kevin Fitzgerald from the Geraldine Fibbers, great great drummer

btw what are the best pre-Miracle of Five album(s) of hers that i should check out next?

Afternoon and Country for True Lovers are both really good, but especially Afternoon.

everyone seems to say thrill is her best work (i know the lex does, for one), but i'm not much more familiar with her early stuff than you are

xp

i've only heard thrill (amazing), country for true lovers (didn't grab me and i deleted it accidentally a month ofter d/lding) and this, which i really like

I heard "Front Door" in an Outback Steakhouse today, such a random thing to hear that it totally caught me off guard.

been really getting into the half of artificial fire i like recently, also discovered that eleni mandell is randomly a v good friend of a v good friend

lex are you not into "right side"?

the ones i really love are: i love planet earth / artificial fire / needle & thread / don't let it happen / god is love

the others just drift by somewhat

may favs are "right side", "tiny waist" and "it wasn't the time (it was the color)" but i really like the whole thing. can't wait to buy this when i get home

xp "right side" is easily the biggest & hardest to ignore!

i shall try it again tomorrow! i like eleni when she's more sultry and laconic rather than her more tuneful indiepop moments

My favorites atm are "Personal," "Cracked," and "Two Faces," but I like all the songs you guys mentioned too. I kinda compulsively didn't want this album to be in my top 10 this year because I just had her in my P&J ballot 2 years ago, but this is just such an addictive record I may have to cave.

between us, our favourite tracks pretty much comprise the whole album! this is probably testament to its quality

Also great is her band The Grabs' Sex, Fashion & Money, with Blondie's Nigel Harrison and others.

Saw her live in Chioago a few times around Country for True Lovers and always enjoyed her shows. I skipped Afternoon just because she was releasing so much so often, but now I'll go back.

Also her jazz EP Maybe, Yes with roller-rink organ is one I like a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6r6lbQXJo

Listening to (and always love) the ballads on Thrill, "Too Bad About You" and "Bedford."

anyone hear her new album?

yeah! was on my year-end list, although not as high as the couple before that. definitely worth hearing either way, it's not like it's really possible for her to sound bad.

ah ok just saw your list, cool!

The Living Sisters have a covers EP coming out in a few weeks, but their album of originals was a little too campy retro as is so i dunno if i'm on the bus for that.

btw did any of you guys catch this, for some reason EM recorded this slick Rob Cavallo-produced song for the soundtrack of the 2009 teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper, which isn't bad but doesn't seem to make any sense in the context of her career, considering the total lack of any other attempts to engage with the major label world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCHUcEB19NU

When folks say "Why can't it be like the Seventies when Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and the like put out an album a year and built these big libraries of recordings?", I think Eleni Mandell really made some good choices that let her do just that.

yeah you can definitely do it now, just gotta stick to your guns more probably

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/01/living_sisters_run_for_cover.php

if anyone is interested, there is a digital-only tribute album, 17 Eleni Mandell songs, one performed by herself and 16 by others. via No Depression:

Various Artists - Unsung Heroes: Songs Of Eleni Mandell

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell is being honored with the release of Unsung Heroes: Songs of Eleni Mandell. The 17-track digital-only album features many of her peers, as well as Mandell herself on the new song “Empty Locket.”

Born out of an annual tribute benefit show hosted by Inara George at the Will Gear Theatricum Bontanicum, a community resource and theater in Topanga Canyon, the album came together after George decided to pay tribute to one of their own, Mandell. George has also partnered with the Plastic Pollution Coalition, a global alliance of individuals, organizations, businesses, and policymakers working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, and the environment.

“It was one of the most intense and memorable nights of my life,” says Mandell, “I was truly moved and humbled by seeing and hearing people sing my songs. I think I had an out-of-body experience.” After the concert, each of the participating artists agreed to record and produce the songs they performed, and this studio album, Unsung Heroes, was born.

Those artists include: Jackson Browne, Lera Lynn, Priscilla Ahn, Van Dyke Parks, Harper Simon, Inara George, Mike Viola, and nine others. It will be available as a digital download on January 20.

Cool!

new album out tomorrow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qJw0xJDZA

oh wow I will check this out

one listen in and no concrete thoughts yet but this is really good, looking forward to spending time with this in a setting other than a solo road trip