the Velvet Teen

Editor's Review:

Bordering on an idea somewhere between dreamy piano-driven ballad rock, unspoiled indie guitar perfection and harmoniously derived pop lies the ethereal Bay Area juggernaut The Velvet Teen. And while the process by which the group wrote and recorded the album, with knowledge of drummer Logan Whitehurst’s impending ailment and subsequent departure, may have been daunting, the group manages to surpass the brilliance of their much heralded full-length gem Out of the Fierce Parade while holding fast to some of the formula that put the group on the proverbial map.
Elysium plunges headfirst into an eerie computer-blipped intro which then morphs into a delicate piano segment on “Sartre Ringo,” followed by the string-laden beauty “Penicillin (It Doesn’t Mean Much)” which showcases vocalist / guitarist / pianist Judah Nagler’s patented vibrato and layered instrumentation. Evident throughout the disc are unrivaled three-part vocal harmonies via Nagler, bassist Josh Staples and drummer Whitehurst, helping to create a pristine, wistful ambiance that few artists present and actually pull off with unscathed flawlessness. While a majority of the album explores a subtle, mellower direction, there are instances where the group’s bombastic live aggression is transferred over to the studio. Consider the haunting guitar-swells coupled with Staples’ steady rhythmic bass on the album’s closer “We Were Bound (To Bend The Rules),” a progressively intense track that emerges as the jewel of the disc and cements this talented group’s place in the collective conscience of the underground rock world.
– Ryan Prado

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Record Label Slowdance Records Released August 2004

Tracks Sartre Ringo Penicillin (It Doesn't Mean Much) Captive Audience Chimera Obscurant Poor Celine Forlorn We Were Bound (To Bend the Rules

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