Eldorado

Eldorado’s sophomore release, Suitcase, sounds exactly like the album title suggests: the Vancouver-based band pen compact, neatly organized songs that’ll fit into any overhead compartment. Every alt-rock tune starts off with all guns blazing yet no matter how punchy or mellow the song, the record never looses its feeling of sheer honesty. Tennessee-born, Canadian raised vocalist Angela Fama sings with sweet sincerity throughout Suitcase, although tracks like “Tex Mex” and “Never Say Never” bring out her more sultry side. The record’s got kick too, as heard on bluesy number “Julie Vs?” and the rebellious “Leave Our Things Behind.” Eldorado have groove and Suitcase is a good way to show off their stuff. (Independent)
Amanda Ash
Oct 2008 - Exclaim

Some say country-rock died with Gram Parsons premature passing in 1973, casual fans say it’s when the Eagles sold-out and recorded
Hotel California, but almost everyone can agree that just as quickly as it came – it was gone. That being said, wherever country-rock went
thirty-plus years ago, it’s back with Eldorado’s latest release, Suitcase.
The album is a mish-mash of pure Canadiana heartland rock and that instantly recognizable All-American Nashville twang. In fact, at
first I did not believe that this band was from Vancouver! Suitcase’s strongest track, “Don’t Know What Hit Me” feels like a Carl Perkins song
switched into high gear. The beautifully harmonized chorus evokes memories of June Carter or perhaps even the Flying burrito Brothers –
although without the masculine undertones. The jumpy trap drums and wonderful lap steel licks really give the feel of an old country road
trip, with the radio crackling out the latest Hank Williams or Hank Snow tune. There is not one weak track on this album, although after
awhile the songs blend together into one long suite. If that’s what Eldorado set out to do, great, but if that’s the complete opposite of their
intentions, then they’re in trouble.
Eldorado is really onto something with Suitcase. Should country-rock make a comeback in the coming years is unpredictable, however
Suitcase could be the Sweetheart of the Rodeo we’ve all been looking for. The wonderfully cinematic qualities, the perky tempos, and the
soothing harmonies are enough to entice a listener on the first track – let alone the rest of the record. Eldorado’s Suitcase is the kind of
record that should be saved for a life-changing summer road trip, or at best played amongst friends who remember “the good ol’ days”.
Spencer Perry
Oct 2008 - The Skinny Mag

Suitcase is the second album from the local indie/alt-country five piece. Singer Angela Fama has a voice that deviates between sweet and
sultry, while occassionaly reminiscent of Cowboy Junkies'Margo Timmins. Although the majority of the tracks throughout Suitcase are strong,
the most memorable tracks are the ones where Fama duets with other band members. This is by no means a slight on the very talented
singer, but rather a case of the energy created by the sum, being much more spirited and infectious than its separate parts. The title track is
a slowed down honky-tonk number featuring the beautiful sounding chorus when Fama is joined on harmonies by bassist Julie Bavalis.
Guitarist Nenad Jelicic contributes a tongue-in-cheek spoken word performance in "Never Say Never," and a memorable vocal appearance
on ballad "Denial". In addition to the vocal talents, there is a cheeky, irreverent spirit to the album with lyrics that recall the wit and word
play of Carolyn Mark. Closing track "The Darkest Eye" reverts back to a sleepy sweetness recalling the warmth of summer days spent under
shady trees and the comfort of knowing that while the road beckons, it also waits.
Melissa Smith
Sept 2008 - Discorder

...Fama relates, "I was forced to grow up fast. I found the crazy punk rockers in the city
and then my country life.I had two separate lives in Africa, the rural life and then the city
life." It is this dichotomy of the city versus the country that really comes to a head with
eldorado. The band was conceived in the dining quarters of The Templeton... Fama,
the waitress and budding chanteuse met Nen Jelicic, the regular and aspiring songsmith
and together a vision was born. The tall bespectacled guitarist was looking for another
voice to augment his compositions and he found this voice in the sassy and petite girl
pouring his coffee in the morning.. . As Fama reflects back on past adventures, it
becomes clear that she is influenced by her meandering lifestyle. "It was on another
road trip to nowhere [in Western Oregon] with a boyfriend at the time. We were both a
little bored so we went off on a little drive. We found a big field just outside of town and
drove in. The sun was just setting and there was this big open sky, this big open space,
and I kid you not, Ijust started to cry because it was so fucking beautiful... Being in that
field and feeling nature in a human sense. I was there with my partner and we were just
sharing it. It was so honest and when your walking around in the city you forget to feel
the ground around you. You forget to remember, whether you have a mohawk or not,
that you're still a person,"
Joseph Delamar - Ion Magazine

Suitcase (independent)
Country-rock delivered with spirit or at least it sounds well-travelled and therefore well broken in. The title track is full of atmosphere, thanks
to a tremolo guitar and spacey pedal steel and lets you know this isn't sugary West Coast country-pop
Tom Harrison
sept 2008
- The Province

There’s a wide ranging musical landscape out in the world, and sometimes the sound that a band ends up with is not exactly what one
would call a natural fit, as influences are forced into a sometimes-too-rigid preconception of what the group should sound like. That’s not a
problem that Vancouver’s Eldorado has had to face, though; with a sound that has been described as a little sassy—and rightly so, given the
songs on the band’s two albums -the musicians in the band have found that the easiest way to sound like themselves is by simply being
themselves. “We try within the band to be as honest as we can be about what’s coming out of us,” explains singer Angela Fama... “I know
with my music tastes I’ve never been a stickler for listening to [one thing] -if I’m into Americana, I must listen to Americana music -I listen to
what grabs me. And I think everybody in the band has that same sort of openness to listening to things that are actually catching to us for the
soul that’s in it, for the words, for the tune, for whatever we’re responding to... once the band decided to record a new album, things fell into
place quickly. “We had a bunch of songs floating around and then all of a sudden around Christmas we were like, ‘Let’s just do this,’ and we
did it pretty fast after that.”That sort of efficiency within the recording process is due partly to the fact that there are some strong relationships
holding Eldorado together. “Nen [Jelicic, guitarist] and I have been playing together for about eight years and then Julie [Bavalis, bassist]
and Michael [Flunkert, dobro and pedal steel player] have been with the band for about six,” she says. “And then Kenton [Wiens, drummer]
just showed up last summer.” In fact, the arrival of Wiens on drums marks the only change in membership that the band has undergone in
the last six years. “We love each other,” Fama laughs. “It’s weird -we’re like this happy family. I mean Nen and Julie, they met in the band
and got married two years after. They were just good friends, so they didn’t start in the band because they liked each other. It was more like
this slow, gradual sort of, ‘Oh, and let’s get married.’”
Eden Munro
Aug 2008 - The Vue, Edmonton, AB

Feeling antsy? Muddled? Caught up in life’s maelstrom? Then allow the good folks of Vancouver’s Eldorado to make a suggestion: perhaps
it’s time to dust off that old baggage and take a trip to nowhere. It’s an all-natural remedy, road-tested, and guaranteed.“Travelling is a good
thing to do,” says guitarist Nenad Jelicic. “You gain so much going somewhere, even if for no reason. You get away from it all to think about
things all over again, so you can come back and have a fresh perspective.” “In the song ‘Suitcase,’ there’s a line at the end that says, ‘I will
let this go to grow,’ ” adds singer Angela Fama. “Now, I think of that in the same kind of way -you’re about to head out and you’re just kind of
letting the rest go behind you and seeing where it ends up after that.”... Their easy-rolling, gently rambling, sweet-and-lowdown brand of alt-
country is practically tailor-made for turning on the cruise control and sliding down the window. Listen a little more closely to the lyrics,
however, and there’s a tension between the ease of staying put and the desire to hit the highway -eldorado is a band with a wandering soul
but the heart of a homebody. “When I was younger I used to always envision living in a trailer so that I could take my home with me,” Fama
says, “but still be able to change things all the time, ’cause I don’t really like things staying the same. But I also love the heart and soul of
what your home means to you.” Fama was actually born on a inter-country adventure.. “My mom was a bit of a rambling rose,”...“She did not
like the hospital birth with my older brother, so she decided to smuggle me over the border in a muumuu. Not joking. She was like,‘I’m a
hippie, they won’t notice.’ So she... went to find ‘the farm.’ It’s actually in Summertown, Tenn., - that’s where I was born... she stuck around
there for quite some time in hippieland, and came back when the time was done.”..eldorado can head out again, peddling what Jelicic hopes
is a “damn fun” brand of Canadian Americana and what Fama hopes people register simply as honest music. “For me, that’s what it’s about,”
she says. “You gotta sing and do and give and write about what you know and who you are.”
Kathleen Bell
Aug 2008 - See Magazine, Calgary, AB

It is difficult enough for most bands to distinguish themselves these days, but in the increasingly popular Americana landscape, it is even
harder. The genre is littered with immensely talented and soulful artists, and it has become increasingly difficult for artists to create a niche
in an incredibly diverse genre. Vancouver based eldorado is trying to perform this demanding task, and conversations with two of the band
members, Nenad Jelicic and Angela Fama, indicate a keen self-awareness that enables them to create their distinctly unique brand of alt-
country while still relying those that have come before them. Those influences have been quite diverse. “I was working at an all-night diner,
and when I met Nen, he was a bit of a diner hound, and he made me a mix tape that had music by ‘The Damned’ on it,” Fama says. “When
we started listening to music, we listened to Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and Buddy Holly. Ry Cooder is a big influence right now, a little bit
of The Detroit Cobras, as well as Gram Parsons and Gene Clark, the late ‘60’s country-rock.” With all of these different influences, from
garage to punk to honky-tonk country, the band finds itself with a favourable dilemma.
“We used to have a tough time,” says Jelicic. “We would have discussions within the band on whether we needed to label ourselves. People
want to categorize bands, and I guess the Americana sound is what we are. It’s such a great scene right now - there’s a bunch of bands that
are skirting all of the lines of different genres, you can hear all of the honesty and the rich instrumentation.”
The band’s sound is sassy, but not so irreverent that it isn’t earnest. Their second album, which is to be released this month, has a more
mature sound than its self-titled predecessor. “It’ll be a little softer, a little more honest, but it’s still a little sassy,” says Fama.
The band puts forth a positive vibe that has been a staple of their music to this point, and their live act serves as a great outlet for this. The
camaraderie of the band really shines through, with Jelicic and Fama trading jokes, and sounding like best friends. “I love being in eldorado.
It is like a family. Nen and Julie actually got married in the band! We just love playing with each other,” Fama says.
Scott Chomistek
Aug 2008

- Beatroute

genre: old-style country, Americana, Roots
Mood: Smokey,sassy and twang-friendly
Good for: break-ups, road-trips, incorporating more gingham into your wardrobe.
Story: Like a bottle of good bourbon, the second release from Vancouver’s eldorado has been a long time in the making, goes down smooth
and sweet but creeps up on yopu woth a swift kick in the pants - perferably hammer strap husy-fit jeans purchased at a backwater Co-op.
To top it off, sulty-voices singer Angela Fama sounds a little like the Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins channelling Wanda jackson behind a
beer-friendly backdrop of pedalsteel, heartache and the occasional dust-up. Reminds us of: wing nights, sideburns and harvest dances.
Target demographics: people who bought the last Gillian Welch CD, moonshine drinkers, anyone with a heart tattoo and the word
“mom” inside it. Highlights: “Storage Room”, “Suitcase” and “Won’t Resist The Kiss” Sample lyric: “I punched out holes in the wall | it
made me feel 10 feet tall | I never felt so damn bad | I hang my head within my hands | he used to call me each and every night” (from
“Tex Mex”)
Micheal Kissinger
Aug 2008 - The Vancouver Courier