Friendly Fire
2007
New Believers
About This Album
Elk City lost their guitarist/vocalist Peter Langland-Hassan soon after the release of their second record, Hold Tight the Ropes. It was a huge loss, but like any good band Elk City picked itself up, dusted itself off, and snagged a couple of shiny new bandmembers. Well, less along the lines of shiny and new and more along the lines of seasoned and time-tested, as in ex-Luna guitarist Sean Eden and ex-Lovelies bassist Barbara Endes. Things haven't been quite the same in Elk City since they came along. For instance, vocalist Renee LoBue, who stepped into the forefront once Langland-Hassan was out of the picture, reveals herself to sound a heck of a lot like a cross between Chrissie Hynde and Patti Smith. The band has dropped the Neil Young-ish twang that characterized their first two albums -- they sound tougher, savvier, more glam, not only drawing from Smith and the Pretenders but Kate Bush, David Bowie, and even Iggy Pop. And, with the exception of a few missteps, they sound better than ever. LoBue has come into her own on this album -- the cloying indie wispiness that characterized her earlier work (both in Elk City and Melting Hopefuls) has been stripped away, revealing pure muscle.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 10)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.