Customer Reviews

Wishbone

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LA chanteuse Eleni Mandell covers a lot of ground within Wishbone's 11 tracks. From sultry art-blues to raucous pop, to the gypsy grind of Tristeza and the trash noir of Meant To Be In Love, the CD veers confidently between lilting jazz and ragged pop with a touch of brazen soul.

Mandell is a fantastic live performer, having honed her skills for years as a regular at LA's Largo club, where Wishbone Producer Jon Brion (Fionna Apple, Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann..) holds court every Friday night.

Fans of Tom Waits, Chuck E. Weiss and PJ Harvey will connect with Eleni's dark, literate pop from word one.

Very simply, Eleni Mandell writes and performs remarkable music. Her music is definitely some of the best to come out of the last 10 years and I'm so grateful I discovered her.

I'm a HUGE fan, and WISHBONE is one of my favorites. Her lyrics are so evocative and her performance of her songs is fantastic.There really isn't anyone I can compare her to because she's THAT original. Her lyrics are poetic yet gritty, her songs are sophistocated yet authentic and primitive too.

I feel about her the way some people feel about Fiona Apple, Billlie Holiday or Joni Mitchell. Maybe soemwould find her music idiosyncratic but I find it soulful, smart and entertaining.

I love Elani's voice and the style of the songs vary. I never get tired of listenig to this disc. Some songs remind me of Liz Phair and others remind me in and odd way of Lucinda Williams. If you like female vocalists who produce interesting albums instead of pop fluff, you'll enjoy this disc.

A friend lent me his copy of "Wishbone" last week, and I was blown away! Not only was the instrumentation soulful and original, but she is an incredible writer, which is too too rare. Her music has the kind of noir-y coolness and authenticity that reminds me of Billie Holliday, or the writer John Fante.

Ms. Mandell manages to sound both forward and retro, never missing a beat. The hypnotic, almost eerie "I'm Your Girl" leads you into the marvelously paced title tune, and the ride from there is most impressive and heartfelt. From the hilarious single women's anthem, "Snake Song" (I think this one should have been on the "Bridget Jones Diary" soundtrack), to the spartan closer, "Nickel Plated Man", you feel you've met and grown to like Eleni Mandell in the span of one CD. Definitely well worth a listen.

A truly extraordinary debut from this L.A.-based singer/songwriter. Apparently she names her big influences as X and Tom Waits, but I think you'd have to listen pretty hard to hear those. (She's not as loud as X, and not as experimental as Waits). As a songwriter, she has an amazing gift for strong melodies -- the Snake Song and Tristeza -- and she can make her tunes work in either quick or mellow tempos. The raw and spooky atmospherics I'm Your Girl and Meant to Be In Love remind more of PJ Harvey's "Dry" and Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville." The organ peeping out from time to time does actually add a slightly theatrical Waits-ish touch. Finally, she's a strong singer, whose warm voice takes the spotlight in beautiful slower, neo-torch numbers like Hack Jimmy and Normandie. Impressive stuff. Definitely an artist to watch.

I saw Eloni live as a solo act (opening for Hugh Cornwall) having never heard of her, and was very impressed. After hearing her I bought the CD at the show and it has become one of my very favorites. You can't go wrong with this one!!

Pure, passionate singing; direct, evocative songs; exotic production. Though she doesn't sound like Lucinda Williams, she shares the same passion and intelligence. Music for any adult with a heartbeat.

Eleni Mandell puts an enormous sense of dispair in her songs, it are right out dirctly from a decadent urban environment.

Okay, are we done yet with the "Lucinda" comparisons? I suppose everyone needs to compare someone to someone else and, I guess because Lucinda happens to be the current "it" girl, it's bound to happen. I do LOVE both immensely talented women, and have seen both live but, to me, that's where the similarity ends. On the other hand, don't miss the series finale of X-Files where Eleni and Johnette Napolitano finally get reunited as twins separated at birth...