Elysian Fields

As cult outsiders of New York's indie scene since the mid-1990s, Elysian Fields' dreamy art pop and dark, smouldering torch songs range from somewhere near the bluesy jazz of Billie Holiday to the brooding murder ballads of Nick Cave. College friends Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow started out playing jazz standards and T.Rex covers together in small smoky art clubs before developing a unique sultry, noir sound on acclaimed debut album Bleed Your Cedar (1996). Part of a close alternative scene that included Jeff Buckley and Cocteau Twins, they were championed by legendary rock critic Nick Kent and recorded a follow-up album with Nirvana's producer Steve Albini; but their record company, Universal, rejected its brooding, doomed sound and refused to release it. Held up by legal wrangling, they returned on smaller, independent labels with Queen Of The Meadow (2000) and Bum Raps And Love Traps (2005) and built up a keen following in France and Europe. Though still maintaining a mysterious air of shadowy, bohemians on seventh album For House Cats And Sea Fans (2014), their music was used in TV shows Smallville, Damages and One Tree Hill as the wider world sat up and took notice of their beguiling style.

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