View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (57 ratings)
- Date Released: February 17, 2009
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock, Alternative
- Label: Zedtone / Redeye
The coolly brilliant Los Angeles chanteuse breaks your heart and buys you a drink
-
We Say...
Never mind the artifice, here's Eleni Mandell, with feeling. The coolly brilliant Los Angeles chanteuse packs some serious heat, thanks in part to guitarist Jeremy Drake, who squeezes out the sparks that make the 15 songs on "Artificial Fire" roar and flicker. Not since Johnny Marr hooked up with Morrissey has a guitarist so effectively fleshed out a singer-songwriter's most candid emotions. On the opening title song, Drake snaps out a volley of notes underlining Mandell's motive for a seduction in Montreal: "I'm a killer at heart and I wanted to feel."
Do you hear that, Eleni Nation? Once a master of the languorous pose, whether as the hovering angel L.A. bohemia in her 1999 debut Wishbone, or poised purveyor of noir twang in 2003's Country for True Lovers (k.d. lang as she might have been imagined by the Coen Bros), or on the original cabaret tunes that revealed the rich character of an old soul in 2007's Miracle of Five, on this one, Mandell lets her heart speak and body rock. "I want to feel good, I want to feel right," she sings in "God is Love," a song with enough sex and spirituality to make Madonna levitate.
"Personal" is part personal ad, part confession, a lovely string arrangement by Drake abating the loneliness as Mandell sings, "I need to feel..."; pausing for a beat, she adds, "hopeful." Mandell is capable of breaking your heart with poignant childhood memories, singing about her mother in a yellow dress, "dad in his red Pendleton shirt" in "It Wasn't the Time (It was the Color)," and still, revealing her feeling: "I felt so forgettable." On the other hand, there's plenty of sex in the city, whatever city Mandell happens to be in, on the swinging and satisfied "Right Side," on the furtive and intoxicating "In the Doorway," and in the finest three minutes she's ever recorded, a romp called "Bigger Burn" which rollicks and rolls like it jumped out of Meet the Beatles, Drake firing off a jubiliant, compressed solo like George Harrison on "I Saw Her Standing There." The later songs on this rich 15-tune collection take on different '60s shades, from the girl-group sound of "Don't Let It Happen" (Inara George, harmony vocals), from which Mandell strips the naivete, to the brilliant Grace Slick stance on "Needle and Thread," on which Drake and bassist Ryan Feves and drummer Kevin Fitzgerald manage to approximate the Jorma Kaukonen/Jack Casady/Spencer Dryden core of Jefferson Airplane. Closing tune "Cracked" makes explicit Mandell's affinity for X and the historic L.A. punk scene, with which she identifies but rarely embodies. This time she does, and why not? Drummer Fitzgerald even gets to bash like he does when he tours with the current version of the Circle Jerks. -
They Say...
One word that is seldom, if ever, used in connection with Eleni Mandell is "belter." The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has generally favored a subtle, understated, hushed vocal style; Mandell's vocals are a whisper, not a shout or a scream. But Mandell's subtlety doesn't mean that her performances and songs are lightweight or lack substance; emotionally, Artificial Fire has a lot going on. This 2009 release is a fine addition to her catalog, although it isn't an album that goes for immediacy. Mandell, for the most part, is so restrained in her approach that one who isn't familiar with her work could allow Artificial Fire to quietly fade into the background if the volume isn't turned up; again, she isn't going to beat listeners over the head in order to get their attention. But relegating Artificial Fire to mere background music does the listener a huge disservice, and those who are paying close attention will realize just how substantial tracks like "Needle and Thread," "Little Foot," "Tiny Waste," and "In the Doorway" are. A singer doesn't have to belt in order to be expressive -- Chet Baker, June Christy, Helen Merrill, and other members of jazz' Cool School made that abundantly clear back in the 1950s -- and Mandell is definitely expressive whether she is combining alternative pop/rock with jazz, cabaret, or folk. Of course, those who sang the praises of Mandell's previous albums never doubted for a minute that she was an artist of substance and depth. But if one needs a reminder, the rewarding Artificial Fire does the trick nicely.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 12 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 12 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Artificial Fire |
3:12 |
|
| 02. | |
God is Love |
4:43 |
|
| 03. | |
Right Side |
4:14 |
|
| 04. | |
Personal |
2:52 |
|
| 05. | |
Tiny Waist |
4:46 |
|
| 06. | |
It Wasn't the Time (It was the Color) |
3:15 |
|
| 07. | |
Bigger Burn |
3:01 |
|
| 08. | |
Little Foot |
2:17 |
|
| 09. | |
Don't Let It Happen |
4:07 |
|
| 10. | |
In the Doorway |
4:49 |
|
| 11. | |
Needle and Thread |
3:30 |
|
| 12. | |
Front Door |
2:57 |
|
| 13. | |
I Love Planet Earth |
5:10 |
|
| 14. | |
Two Faces |
4:59 |
|
| 15. | |
Cracked |
2:19 |
|
15 Total Tracks, 56:11 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like Eleni Mandell, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Eleni Mandell fans
Credits
- Steve Fisk - Mixing // David Trumfio - Producer // David Trumfio - Engineer // Mark Chalecki - Mastering // Harry Trumfio - Shaker // Harry Trumfio - Finger Cymbals // Inara George - Vocals (Background) // Inara George - Vocals (Background) // Eleni Mandell - Guitar (Acoustic) // Eleni Mandell - Arranger // Eleni Mandell - Guitar (Electric) // Eleni Mandell - Vocals // Eleni Mandell - Producer // Sheldon Gomberg - Engineer // Pierre de Reeder - Engineer // Charlie Wadhams - Vocals (Background) // Jeremy Drake - Arranger // Jeremy Drake - Guitar (Electric) // Jeremy Drake - Melodica // Jeremy Drake - Producer // Jeremy Drake - String Arrangements // Jeremy Drake - Layout Design // Jason Borger - Keyboards // Jason Gossman - Engineer // Laura Heffington - Photography // Robert Anderson - Violin // Jessica Catron - Cello // Ryan Feves - Bass // Ryan Feves - Arranger // Ryan Feves - Producer // Lauren Dukoff - Photography
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC