When the Red King Comes

When the Red King Comes
Studio album by Elf Power
Released	1997
Recorded	1996 – 1997
Genre	Indie pop, indie rock
Length	39:47
Label	Arena Rock Recording Co.[1]
Elf Power chronology
Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs (1995) When the Red King Comes (1997) A Dream in Sound (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]

When the Red King Comes is the second album by the Elephant 6 band Elf Power.[4][5] It is a concept album about the Red King's kingdom. The cover art is taken from a section of an imaginary map called “The Land of Make Believe”, drawn in 1930 by Jaro Hess. A more complete version of the map can be seen in The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands.

"Needles in the Camel's Eyes" is a cover of the Brian Eno song.[6]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "though still noisy, the improved sound coincides with a sharper focus in the songwriting (that's good) and the first hint of impending mythological obsessions (not so good)."[1] The Chicago Tribune thought that "in Elf Power's hands, psychedelia is a means of transforming personal trauma into a twisted kind of triumph."[3]

AllMusic wrote that "the fuzzy, lo-fi production is an Elephant 6 hallmark, but the unique instrumentation (electric horns, pump organs, even Nepalese percussion) and cryptic, stream-of-consciousness wordplay suggest something altogether different."[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andrew Rieger unless otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Step Through the Portal"		1:57
2.	"Into the Everlasting Time"		1:59
3.	"The Frightened Singers"		0:46
4.	"The Secret Ocean"		3:00
5.	"The Arrow Flies Close"		2:38
6.	"Icy Hands Will Never Melt Away"		3:27
7.	"When the Red King Comes"		3:29
8.	"Separating Fault"		3:33
9.	"Spectators"		2:20
10.	"Introducing Cosmic Space"	Andrew Rieger, Bryan Helium	3:29
11.	"The Bengal Parade"		3:00
12.	"Needles in the Camels Eyes"	Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera	3:01
13.	"The Silver Lake"	Laura Carter	3:39
14.	"It's Been a Million Years"		3:28
Total length:			39:47

Personnel

• Andrew Rieger - guitars, vocals, flute, zanzitophone, keyboards, bass, percussion
• Laura Carter - keyboards, vocals, Moog synthesizer, zanzithophone, loops
• Bryan Helium - bass, vocals, guitar, sitar, keyboards
• Aaron Wegelin - drums, vocals, percussion

References

1. "Elf Power". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
2. "When the Red King Comes - Elf Power | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
3. Ryan, Mo (30 Jan 1998). "Elf Power When the Red King Comes". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. 46.
4. "Elf Power Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
5. "The Big Musical World Of Elf Power". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022.
6. "Elf Power: A rocking foursome". Daily Hampshire Gazette. August 6, 1998. p. 33.