ELENI MANDELL
Afternoon (Zedtone)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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When Mandell sings "I wanna be your afternoon / I wanna be your good time girl," it's with such a fun, carefree flair that it's hard not to ditch work and head on over. Always a tricky word player, Eleni Mandell spins clever yarns and fleshes 'em out with thrilling musical accompaniment. After a brief country excursion, the new record returns to the steamy cabaret sound that really is her forte. This is all about the spicy dangers of love, pulp novel style: full of witty cliches, sultry swagger, heart-wrenching croons and venomous barbs. Like Tom Waits, Eleni Mandell defies description, other than that she's good, real good.

© 2004 - John Sekerka