ELIKA

More swoon pop being channelled through the airwaves via another New York based ensemble by the name of Elika. ’trying got us nowhere’ is the debut mini album (and we say mini deliberately given it’s a slender seven tracks in length and just shy of 29 minutes in duration) from Brooklyn residents Evagelia Maravelias (vocals, keys) and Brian Wenckebach (guitars) who apparently describe their music as thus - ‘blissed out ambience with head nodding beats that range from down tempo to trance to IDM’ - there you go - review done so what are you waiting for go on off you trot and buy the blighter. Only joshing with you - do you really believe that we’d let a little beaut like this out of our sight without wading in with our size thirteens - of course not.

‘trying got us nowhere’ is a delicate and dainty sweetly bruised dream-scaped odyssey seductively peppered by nimble noire-esque dialects crafted in nocturnally tinged fondly inclines. These hurting dusty heirlooms of fading romance appear like crestfallen introspective postcards fed through a tear stained viewfinder purring and pining like crackles through the ether to sit shyly stationed somewhere between Heather Duby and the Shortwave Set longing pierced with the same kind of souring sophistication as applied by Musetta on their elegant debut ’mice to meet you’.

From the moment the cruise controlled orbiting shimmer like salutations of the opening cut ’the whip’ veer into view you’re already put on alert that something charismatically hushed, enigmatic and deceptively gentle is stirring out from within the grooves that deftly focuses itself on trembling timbres of the hollowing and spectrally charged lunatic lullaby of the feedback sheen demurring dream pop of the distant ’nowhere’ - a gorgeously framed crystalline feast of hypnotic pulse beats and ice tipped understated grandeur bleached with momentary eruptions of silken Flying Saucer Attack sourced snow bursts. No sooner are you picking your jaw off the floor then along comes the delicately caressing pastoral chime ambience of ’to the end’ with for the best part of three and a half minutes weaves a soft but measured mesmerising hue before fracturing into florescent stratospheric cascades a la Chapterhouse’s ’pearl’.

And while both ’let down’ with its ‘Israel’ styled McGeoch chimes meets Slowdive fuzz serenades and the chilled out drone swathed ‘confidence killed my sprit’ admirably hit the spot its left to both ‘they’ll hate us’ and ‘Eliana’ to provide the set with its standout moments. The superbly silken speckled softness of the willowy ‘they’ll hate us’ is coated in alluring sugar tipped ethereal textures daubed by unfurling glacial rustics and tip toeing beats that once fused cast a lulling orbital waltz of sorts while the parting ‘Eliana’ - what can we say - breathless. A beautifully tender and touching love note festooned amid deliriously subtle swirls of playful electronics, tinkling bells and lightly plucked baroque styled Harpsichord like fretwork whose soul purpose it seems is to lay you out flat which in the final reckoning gives ‘trying got us nowhere’ the unerring feel of being one of the understated finds of the year so far. - Losing Today

For most musicians, the creative process of making music starts with an emotion, an intangible feeling that they can convey only through sound. I’ve often wondered if there is any correlation between emotional trends in music and broader world events and cultural trends, but that is a discussion for another day. Suffice to say, the more emotion an artist conveys in their songs, the more accessible it becomes to emotional people.

It goes without saying that Elika, a two-piece, Brooklyn-based DIY electronic-pop band, has mastered this art of conveying emotion. Though the prevalent feeling of their new album Snuggle Bunnies is a mixture of angst, pain, and frustration, there is a certain prevailing sense of hope and potential permeating the entire album, lending an unexpected brightness to an album primarily about breakups and heartache.

Let me be straight: you can call Elika indie shoegaze/dream-pop, but to accurately define their music would require much more space than we have here. Snuggle Bunnies is a multi-genre album in the truest sense, ranging from danceable, bubbly, multi-layered electro to dreamy ambience and synth psychedelia. Evangelia Maravelias has a beautiful voice, and her harmonizations throughout the album are absolutely wonderful. All the elements combine to form a very compelling and diverse selection.

The only concern I have with this album is in its flow. Why put the single, “Summer,” an upbeat, angsty hipster-anthem at the front of the disc? ”Stand Still,” track two on Snuggle Bunnies, sounds like the Intro of a great album. Putting “Summer” before it feels odd and threatens to derail the flow of the whole album right from the get-go.

Elika has the vision, the talent and the relevance to make it as a fantastic chart-topper. Their DIY production style is very encouraging to other budding hipsters/artists, and if it weren’t for the tracklist and the relatively low level of thematic diversity in the lyrical content, this album could have been a late addition to my top albums of 2010. As it is, I am very much looking forward to hearing more from this duo. - Balofonic

If anyone were to not take Elika’s album, Snuggle Bunnies, seriously due to the cute title, all it would take is a single listen to change their mind. The Brooklyn-based duo offers a collection of sophisticated, layered tracks that perfectly balance physical instruments with digital accompaniment. Singer Evangelia Maravelias’ voice is oddly reminiscent of Madonna, with the gentle lilt of her voice effortlessly floating through the songs and making even the saddest lyrics about heartbreak sound beautiful and catchy.

Maravelias and Brian Wenckebach create a sonic world that seems dark, but hopeful, packed with dimension, but without sounding too dense. Somewhere between shoegaze, indie and electronica vocals, Elika’s sound is as much art as it is straightforward. It’s easy to connect to the pain within the lyrics, but it’s just as likely that you’ll find yourself nodding along to the strong beat.

Treat yourself to the single “Summer,” the first track on the record, and there’s no doubt that you’ll want to delve into the rest. The best track though is the closer, “Tidal Wave,” which has lyrics that sound as lost and adrift as the title while loud, distorted electric guitar kicks up only to flow in and out like water along the shoreline. While every element of Snuggle Bunnies was dictated by the band, from the writing process to the production, the result is a sparkling example of a creative accomplishment.
- Short & Sweet NYC

Personal relationships are the endgame for most people. The search to connect your innermost feelings with another person is what Elika's new album “Snuggle Bunnies” often hints at. At the core of the lyrics are emotional ties that revolve around the struggle of the human being's fight for happiness on earth, and the band's wide palette of sounds complements these lyrics. Released on Peruvian label Automatic, classic Elika resounds on the 1st single “Summer”. Shoegazer-style soundscapes are scattered throughout the album, but it's a simple plaintive side that finally emerges in the highlight song “Death and Avalanches”. Pure talent and a bare acoustic guitar set in motion resounding, deep feelings when singer Eva relies on just her voice and her metaphors. “The Darkside” musically reflects its lyrical counterparts, revealing 2 songs in one and releasing its somber verses instantly into an uplifting arpeggiated chorus. The closer “Tidal Wave” is a complete musical movement based on a simple progression, with drums that wash around each other in synch. When it all comes crashing down, you are left to roll in the emotional feedback they create: a symbiotic tie making you wonder what is there left when you've relied everything on someone else. - The Deli NYC

What a strange year we’ve had. Don’t like Killers? Go see Knight and Day! Don’t like The A-Team? Go see The Losers! And now, don’t like Liz Phair? Check out Elika!

The reviews have pretty much been universally “meh” for Liz Phair’s “Funstyle” album (even if CD kinda liked it): “Funstyle stands as something far greater than the sum of its dubious, ostensibly bullshit parts“; “I think I might be one of the few people who doesn’t see Funstyle as a total disaster!“; “It’s unclear whether Phair herself thinks Funstyle is a joke, although it’s not completely out of the question.” So if Funstyle wasn’t fun for you, or funny, or just left you cold, you might want to check out what happens when “Take A Bow” era Madonna covers Liz Phair, and throws in some atmospheric shoegaze transitions. Because that’s what you’ll find on Elika‘s “Snuggle Bunnies,” the latest release from Brooklyn’s electropoppers who self-released their latest on Bandcamp–and it’s way better than the five bucks they’re charging for it. (You can pay a lot more if you buy direct from the label.)

I remember when Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories” came out. I was living above this crackhead who used to flood his basement apartment until it was knee-deep, and then blast “Take a Bow” over and over (and over) until finally the cops came. This was a Friday ritual for the guy. So you’d think I hate the record, but I actually think it’s Madonna’s best. It’s sleek and sexy, but without the nonsensical pop bounce of a lot of her work. It’s got an overall spacey vibe, but holds to a dance beat and doesn’t sacrifice hooks. And Elika’s record has a very similar vibe.

Make sure you give this one a full chance and listen. At first you’ll want to write it off as derivative and beneath you, especially if you’re a music snob with a short attention span (like me), but if you let yourself go, the album will creep up on you. You’ll hear some wicked drumbeat loops and terrific vocals. Listen in the car and you might find yourself driving a lot smoother. If you close your eyes, you might even find yourself floating. (Don’t do that while you’re driving–it makes police ornery.)

Seriously, I’ve listened to this album twice now and keeps growing on me. A very surprising album, and a very solid release. - Berkeley Place

A combination of field recordings, drum programming, gauzy electronics, and shoegazey guitars, Trying Got Us Nowhere is the debut album from Brooklyn-based duo Evagelia Maravelias and Brian Wenckebach, and it's no surprise artists like Justin Martin and Ulrich Schnauss are raving about it. Every musical note seems as carefully placed as a comma in a novel, and Maravelias' voice soars through a collection of intelligent lyrics mostly centered on lost love. Breakups are cruel, but damned if I don't want to have another one just so I can go home and put this album on repeat. - XLR8R