Eleni Mandell is playing with Artificial Fire, the seventh full-length album of her career that dates back to 1998. How many music lovers does she hope to draw closer to the flame?
A lifelong Los Angelina, Mandell apparently has a burning desire to succeed, even if it means dealing with an identity crisis as she tries to find her true self. But the doe-eyed singer-songwriter certainly seems willing to leave the dark side behind, become more accessible and reveal everything she’s got to a broader audience with this offbeat but captivating new record that was released on February 17 (Zedtone Records).
Mandell takes on all styles and personas, going from brave New Waver on the opening title track to space-age poet-mutant on “I Love Planet Earth” and “God Is Love” to jazzy torch singer on “Tiny Waist” and “Right Side” to straight-ahead hard-rock chick on “Bigger Burn” and the closing “Cracked.”
Where is she going with all this? Who knows, but when your influences are as eclectic as your playlist and include X, Tom Waits, George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tammy Wynette, the possibilities are endless.
Mandell enlisted the services of guitarist Jeremy Drake for this album and he’s become part of her regular band that includes drummer Kevin Fitzgerald and bassist Ryan Feves. They also were involved in arranging the songs, all 15 of which were written by Mandell. But it’s Drake’s ability to adapt to the stylistic changes (B-52’s-like riffs on “Artificial Fire,” jangly accompaniment throughout the sprite “Little Foot”) that help hold this project together and bring rougher-around-the-edges dynamics to this polished prose.
Other outside contributions come from X drummer DJ Bonebrake (cool vibes on “Tiny Waist” and “Front Door”), singer Inara George (one-third of the Living Sisters with Mandell and Lavender Diamond’s Becky Sharp) and 
Danny T. Levin, whose horn playing brought weight to the breezy pop sensibilities of “Right Side” and “Don’t Let It Happen.”
Mandell is blessed with a sultry alto and a literary sense but her quirk doesn’t work all the time. The stream-of-consciousness banter in “Personal” should be renamed “Too Much Information” as she reveals,
“I like to drink coffee / With one cube of sugar
Always with cream / And never with milk.”
But if one song can make buying an entire CD worthwhile, it’s “It Wasn't The Time (It Was The Color).“
Article comments
1 - Matt
Cool review. Hopefully, this will be a breakout year for Eleni, a truly underrated performer.
2 - Michael
Thanks for the comments, Matt. I've never seen Eleni perform but plan to catch her concert in Denver later this month. I'll let readers know how it goes.
3 - carmen
Enjoyed this review. Will look forward to her concert. Keep us informed.
4 - Roby
Hi,
saw her in concert in Berlin, never heard about her before and was truly amazed. 'Tiny waist' had done it for me... My interpretation of her lyrics is somehow different than yours though. I feel the whole deals with one relationship that didn't work out, "no hard feelings, but it's a pity"... I may be wrong, but the parents episode seems to fit there too, as if a failed marriage of the parents would be (if not a likely predictor of) a confirmation that shit (in relationships) happens. I feel the album has a film-like quality with each (connected) episode highlighted by the music that most appropriately expresses the text's mood.