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While Elf Power haven't started to turn into Steely Dan on us, after a dozen years Elf Power has a lineup that can lay down a solid groove, add tasty guitar and keyboard accents and generally sound like a for-real band rather than a music fan's goof.
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The album drags at the midpoint with 'Softly Through the Void,' the psychic/sonic equivalent of a 3pm sugar crash at your cubicle, but 'Paralyzed' and "Fried Out" offer enough psychedelia-beds-rock jolt to yank one out of the fog.
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The production is sublime, every beat and note fully realised in glorious colour. The songs, however, sound tired, and despite determined efforts to sound upbeat and jaunty, they end in a slump of indie-pop lethargy.
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While there could have been an effort to eliminate some of the canned percussive elements and other recording anomalies, Elf Power have crafted a wonderful album, filled with plenty of catchy hooks and interesting musical ideas based on simple progressions.
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While Cave represents a return to form, the band hasn't recaptured the beauty of early highlights like 'When the Red King Comes' or 'A Dream in Sound.'
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Lyrically, In a Cave is no less perplexing than other records.
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Cave feels like a group that's comfortably going in circles, not finding a fresh way to do what it's already done.
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UncutIf a few tracks see them flirt with Eno-esque avant garde, thes wayward tendencies are balanced out by pretty folk ballads. [June 2008, p.88]
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Under The RadarAs it stands, everything is cranked to the same volume, creating a wash of sound that's neither punchy enough to move the rockers, nor benign enough to satisfy the stoners. [Spring 2008, p.82]