Elysian Fields
By Kit Macdonald
Described accurately if a little underwhelmingly by Pitchfork as "reliable purveyors of dream-pop and alt-rock noir", Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow's Elysian Fields project is rapidly closing in on its 30th anniversary. At their best, as on 1996's Bleed Your Cedar, 2000's Queen of the Meadow or 2003's Dreams That Breathe Your Name, the Brooklyn duo have rivalled the likes of Mazzy Star and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as leaders in the realm of smoky, moody alt-rock.
Charles' uber-cool chanteuse tones have always defined Elysian Fields, and that's very much still the case on their new LP, What The Thunder Said, which they're promoting on this tour. The band became a Franco-American four-piece for this record and Charles and Bloedow have always found larger and more enthusiastic audiences in Europe, so you can expect them to appear unusually at home at this show, at one of Gràcia's most interesting venues. Support from Matt Low.