In a Cave

Where Elf Power’s Back to the Web, came off a bit like an indie-rock Renaissance Faire soundtrack, and previous outings have covered territory from solid, lo-fi pop to shades of Tolkien-imbued psychedelia, In a Cave might be a melding of all that has come before. The album opens with “Owl Cut,” which indicates a return to Elf-styled pop majesty, but the boogie-fuzz guitar on “Spiral Stairs” (the track carrying the most hook potential here) abruptly switches gears. From there the band’s style palette is a veritable rainbow: the piano and harpsichord/synth plinking on “A Tired Army” and “The Demon’s Daughter,” the gently rocking “Fried Out” and “Quiver and Quake,” and the breezy, swift currents on “Paralyzed” and “The New Mythology” move the listener from soft pastels to pure primary colors. Curiously, the many lyrical allusions to the coming of night and the descending dark (“dripping from the sky” in one instance) might inspire one to think Elf Power’s music comes from a darker, more bleak place, but the band’s easy melodies, blissful harmonies, and singer Andrew Rieger’s warm and inviting vocals put that idea to rest. Maybe it’s just a cave thing.