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In a Cave, the ninth album from Elf Power, features yet another slightly reconfigured lineup of the band (have they ever kept the same personnel across more than one record?)–John Fernandes is gone, replaced by another ex-Olivia Tremor Controller, Eric Harris–but it sounds as much like an evolution as a summation of the band’s career, touching upon many styles. What strikes me upon the first couple of listens is that there’s more variety here than in the last couple of efforts (as strong as they were): “Paralyzed” and “Quiver and Quake” are instant rock singles to rank alongside the best offerings of Walking with the Beggar Boys and Back to the Web; “Heads of Dust, Hearts of Lust” and “The Demon’s Daughter” bring to the fore lead singer Andrew Rieger’s fruitful preoccupation with Marc Bolanesque melodic fantasias, while “A Tired Army” and “Window to Mars,” probably the oddest track in the band’s catalogue, speak to the band’s willingness to experiment with sound and flavor. What’s important is that all these songs, lit with the quality of Rieger’s songwriting, fuse together seamlessly to produce a wonderful album, probably the best to come from Elf Power in a while. Have a listen to “Quiver and Quake” at the newly-updated Optical Atlas streaming jukebox. In a Cave comes out March 25 on Rykodisc.

1. Owl Cut (White Flowers in the Sky)
2. Spiral Stairs
3. A Tired Army
4. Paralyzed
5. New Lord
6. Softly Through the Void
7. Window to Mars
8. The New Mythology
9. Fried Out
10. The Demon’s Daughter
11. Quiver and Quake
12. Heads of Dust, Hearts of Lust
13. Midnight Crawls Out