New Believers, the latest release from Elk City, is their best yet. The tracks on this CD are poised to be indie rock classics. From the catchy Ooh La La’s of Cherries in the Snow to the ethereal yearning of My Type of Criminal, this is brilliant new music backed up with pure vocal beauty.
Renee LoBue doesn’t write songs so much as channel them. Her inspiration is integrally linked to her subconscious. Songs come to her in a pre-sleep, near dream state. That's the time she doesn't censor herself and will take more chances musically, so now she always sleeps with a tape recorder. LoBue never has a shortage of ideas because they are floating all around her. “My job is to just catch them. I’m not so much a creator but a catcher,” she said. “I have a really good net.”
My Type of Criminal is one of those dream state songs. The song is about obsession with someone so mysterious you can’t figure him out: You’re my type of criminal. You don’t spend time with friends. You don’t say where you’ve been. And the haunting refrain sounds like it's sung by a heart-broken angel. When LoBue brought the song to Ray Ketchem, the band’s drummer and musical arranger, he noticed that the song was in 6/8 time, he just turned on the drum machine and played the organ while she sang. What you hear on the CD is actually the demo version. Ketchem said he tried to rerecord it and improve it. But when they listened back to the original they were so blown away, they realized they it was already perfect.
Ketchem and LoBue have worked together musically for over 18 years. They met through a Musician Wanted classified ad. Their pairing seems as though it were fated. “This has been a relationship that completely works,” LoBue said. Ketchem agreed, saying not only did he love working with LoBue, but also that he was a genuine fan. Her raw material inspires him to think of 20 different musically complex and wonderful arrangements. And then, he says, she has that final push with her great vocals.
Their tastes are very similar so they rarely butt heads about musical choices. Ketchem says he has a massive music collection, but often references John Cale’s solo albums Fear and Slow Dazzle. LoBue thinks the ultimate rock star would be a combination of Maria Callas and Freddie Mercury. She said, “We put our egos aside and work for the greater good of the song.”
Things haven’t always been so smooth in the band. A few years back, their guitarist, Peter Langland-Hassan left the group. It was an ugly and dramatic falling out. The song Little Brother nicely sums up their relationship and subsequent breakup. They attributed the departure to his then-fiancé, who did not appreciate the musician's life. They compared her to the girlfriend in This is Spinal Tap, who eventually becomes the band’s manager. “At least we weren’t forced to wear spandex pants,” said LoBue.
Elk City died and was reborn with the addition of two new members. Guitarist Sean Eden, formerly of Luna and ex Lovelies member Barbara Endes on bass round out the band. Without being sarcastic, LoBue says the breakup was one of the best things that happened to them musically. “We picked up and moved along,” she said.
And they have. New Believers hits all the right notes. Cherries in the Snow, the first song on the CD, is one of the most joyous songs I’ve heard in a long time. The title is a reference to the iconic Revlon reddish pink lipstick. LoBue said it’s inspired by being very young and going out and having that first sense of freedom and independence. She remembers how she and a friend raided the make-up drawer for lipstick and eyeliner. The song is about discovering the power of femininity and putting on adult airs, even when you are not quite an adult. “It was a dramatic and fun time,” said LoBue. The song, with its Ooh La La refrain, is so much fun it might just burn a hole in your iPod listening to it over and over again. -Sherry Mazzocchi
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