The Athens, Georgia-based Elf Power emerged as part of the second wave of bands linked to the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective, a coterie of like-minded lo-fi indie groups -- including the Apples (In Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Olivia Tremor Control -- who shared musicians, ideas, and sensibilities. Formed by singers/multi-instrumentalists Andrew Rieger and Laura Carter, Elf Power debuted in 1995 with the self-released Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs, followed a year later by the Winter Hawk EP, which heralded the additions of bassist Bryan Helium and drummer Aaron Wegelin. The excellent When the Red King Comes appeared in late 1997, and two years later the group returned with A Dream in Sound; also in the spring of 1999, a series of live dates with the Olivia Tremor Control yielded the tour-exclusive EP Come On. Winter Is Coming followed a year later. In 2002, the group released the conceptual record Creatures (which saw the amicable departure of bassist Bryan Helium) and Nothing's Going to Happen, a collection of covers ranging from Gary Numan to the Misfits. Two years later, the group returned with Walking with the Beggar Boys, a decidedly more straightforward offering that included new members Eric Harris (formerly of the Olivia Tremor Control) and Craig McQuiston (formerly of the Glands). After switching to Rykodisc, Elf Power issued their eighth album, Back to the Web, in 2006. In a Cave followed two years later. In 2010, Elf Power returned with a self-titled studio effort dedicated to the band's longtime collaborator Vic Chestnutt, who had passed away in 2009. Arriving in 2013, Elf Power's 11th full-length, Sunlight on the Moon, was a return to the spontaneous creation and bedroom-recording process of their earliest days.
Jason Ankeny
AllMusic.com
