The Essex Green
The Essex Green
Elephant Six

Another offspring from the great, big Elephant Six family. The Essex Green are Jeffrey Baron, Sasha Bell, and Mike Barrett from the Ladybug Transistor (Gary Olson from the L.T. appears among the guests), plus Christopher Ziter and Timothy Barnes (related to Jeremy Barnes from Neutral Milk Hotel and the Gerbils?) and musically they're just down the alley from the folk-pop of Ladybug Transistor. Which means spring-flavored sunbeams and colorful flower beds all the way.

The Essex Green is a 5 song mini album, opening with the most charming pop song Fabulous Day, about a crush in the spring. The lyrics fits perfect for spring-time (March, April) right now here in Oslo:

Outside it's winter weather, the calendar knows better, somehow it's a summers day [...] As the rain fills the sky, don't ask me why, it could snow in a moment I think...but it's a fabulous day...

Simply, uh, fabulous. Trees sounds a bit like Jonathan Richman, with more of the naive, airy folk-pop. On side 2 (yes, vinyl) it all gets more electric and rocking. On the more up-tempo Chester Sasha sings lead, while on New Orleans they slow down a bit, in a more countryesque way. Both songs are for me like a mixture of the Pooh Sticks (The Great White Wonder) and Belle & Sebastian. Bald is more of a psychedelic moment, like, say, what Olivia Tremor Control has been up to on their last records. The instrumentation is more massive, building up for the grand finale. Nice. Sike-e-delik.

An excellent mini, giving you the right urge to taste some more. Pop for healing your mind if you're all stressed. Check out their full album Everything is Green (released last October, by Kindercore Records) as well. Fabulous days: come on, I'm ready!

Copyright © 2000 Håvard Oppøyen