When the Red King Comes
{{More citations needed|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = When the Red King Comes
| type = studio
| artist = Elf Power
| cover = Elfpowerredking.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1997
| recorded = 1996 – 1997
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Indie pop, indie rock
| length = 39:47
| label = Arena Rock Recording Co.
| producer =
| prev_title = Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = A Dream in Sound
| next_year = 1999
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-the-red-king-comes-mw0000032141|title=When the Red King Comes - Elf Power | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = Chicago Tribune
|rev2score = {{rating|4|4}}{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Mo |title=Elf Power When the Red King Comes |work=Chicago Tribune |date=30 Jan 1998 |location=Friday |page=46}}
}}
When the Red King Comes is the second album by the Elephant 6 band Elf Power.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elf-power-mn0000171558/biography|title=Elf Power Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/350057/the-big-musical-world-of-elf-power/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208225600/https://www.mtv.com/news/350057/the-big-musical-world-of-elf-power/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 8, 2022|title=The Big Musical World Of Elf Power|website=MTV News}} It is a concept album about the Red King's kingdom. The cover art is taken from a section of an imaginary map called “The Land of Make Believe”, drawn in 1930 by Jaro Hess. A more complete version of the map can be seen in The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands.
"Needles in the Camel's Eyes" is a cover of the Brian Eno song.{{cite news |title=Elf Power: A rocking foursome |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette |date=August 6, 1998 |page=33}}
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that "though still noisy, the improved sound coincides with a sharper focus in the songwriting (that's good) and the first hint of impending mythological obsessions (not so good)."{{cite web |title=Elf Power |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/elf-power/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=8 February 2022}} The Chicago Tribune thought that "in Elf Power's hands, psychedelia is a means of transforming personal trauma into a twisted kind of triumph."
AllMusic wrote that "the fuzzy, lo-fi production is an Elephant 6 hallmark, but the unique instrumentation (electric horns, pump organs, even Nepalese percussion) and cryptic, stream-of-consciousness wordplay suggest something altogether different."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| total_length = 39:47
| all_writing = Andrew Rieger unless otherwise noted.
| title1 = Step Through the Portal
| length1 = 1:57
| title2 = Into the Everlasting Time
| length2 = 1:59
| title3 = The Frightened Singers
| length3 = 0:46
| title4 = The Secret Ocean
| length4 = 3:00
| title5 = The Arrow Flies Close
| length5 = 2:38
| title6 = Icy Hands Will Never Melt Away
| length6 = 3:27
| title7 = When the Red King Comes
| length7 = 3:29
| title8 = Separating Fault
| length8 = 3:33
| title9 = Spectators
| length9 = 2:20
| title10 = Introducing Cosmic Space
| length10 = 3:29
| writer10 = Andrew Rieger, Bryan Helium
| title11 = The Bengal Parade
| length11 = 3:00
| title12 = Needles in the Camels Eyes
| length12 = 3:01
| writer12 = Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera
| title13 = The Silver Lake
| length13 = 3:39
| writer13 = Laura Carter
| title14 = It's Been a Million Years
| length14 = 3:28
}}
Personnel
- Andrew Rieger - guitars, vocals, flute, zanzitophone, keyboards, bass, percussion
- Laura Carter - keyboards, vocals, Moog synthesizer, zanzithophone, loops
- Bryan Helium - bass, vocals, guitar, sitar, keyboards
- Aaron Wegelin - drums, vocals, percussion
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Elf Power}}
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Category:Arena Rock Recording Company albums
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