play yer tunes

pyt Presents:

Artist: Eleni Mandell
Album: Snakebite
Record Label: Space Baby

Street Date: 00/00/2002
Ripped Date: 04/12/2003
Genre: Alternative
Year: 2002
Ripper: str
Source: Compact Disc
Encoder: EAC/Lame

Release Information

Eleni Mandell is a supremely talented singer-songwriter from
Los Angeles. With her 40s style black Betty bob haircut she
could be the mousy librarian, the sassy waitress (her
sometimes day job), the sultry torch singer, the viciously
vindictive ex-lover, the tempestuous vixen. On Snakebite,
her third and most accomplished album, she's greater than
the sum of all those parts. The most noticeable improvement
is that her band, consisting of a rockabilly-type set-up
with Sheldon Gomberg on upright bass and Danny Frankel on
drums, have been tightened and seasoned by time well spent
on the road. Like PJ Harvey, Mandell is influenced by Tom
Waits' mix of Hoagy Carmichael Tin Pan Alley pop, noirish
balladry and beatnik blues. The album features many extra
guests who contribute horns, lap steel guitars, keyboards,
cello and must illustriously, X's D.J. Bonebrake on marimbas
and vibes. "Dreamboat" is soothing as a breeze at 3 a.m. on
the waterfront. "Pirate Song," is Mandell's version of a sea
shanty about the ghost of an ex-lover, propelled by a
romping standup bass, "He loved only one time and he loved
her well/I will bury his broken hands, that he strangled me
with/Oh, I begged him to do it╓yes I did!" "Don't Lose My
Trail" is one of her best efforts yet. We follow her on an
image-rich road trip from New York to L.A., set to a
mesmerizing repeating guitar riff and haunting organ. The
title track is the most effective demonstration of the
claustrophobia and suffocation of a relationship gone bad
since PJ Harvey's "Rid Of Me," complete with desperate
gasping. She even has a science fiction lullaby in
"Silverlake," with a dreamy pedal steel guitar. Throughout
the album, her singing is better than ever. She's more
restrained than on her previous two albums, but the
underlying power is evident, especially the few times she
really lets loose. Mandell is developing into a singular
talent with a persona potentially as unique and memorable as
a Peggy Lee, a Wanda Jackson or a Dusty Springfield. The
album cover portrays her crouched over a speeding
motorcycle. She's going somewhere fast, and it's high time
you abandon all sense of self-preservation and jump on for
the ride. -fastnbulbous.com

Eleni Mandell will forever be described in comparatives to
the likes of Polly Jean, Fiona and that grandmaster of
cabaret dissonance, Mr. Waits. There's no denying the
lineage. Lusty, gusty, variously gravelly and often
convincingly angry, Mandell's voice masters an impressive
range of the lyrically madcap. But at some point shouldn't
we give a girl her due and stop weighing her down with
associations? Three albums in, I still cant get them out of
my head. Which begs the question With an album this good,
this compelling, enthralling, winsome, gifted, insightful
and all the other positive things we say, what is she going
to have to do to get us to focus on the prize, and only the
prize? -The Hour Magazine

Track Listing:

No.  Time   Track Title

01   3:51   Dreamboat
02   2:32   Pirate Song
03   4:48   Don't Lose My Trail
04   3:15   I Believe in Spring
05   2:35   Alien Eye
06   4:10   Man in the Paper Hat
07   3:06   Snakebite
08   3:48   Christine
09   2:40   Dutch Harbor
10   2:25   Close the Door
11   2:07   Digging a Hole
12   3:25   Silverlake Babies
13   3:18   Madhouse

CD Time: 0hr42min .. Total Size: 57MB