Elika

Trying Got Us Nowhere (Fiercely Indie)

By Erin Wolf
Published: December 14th, 2008 | 9:00am

Brooklyn’s Elika adeptly creates lush soundscapes and heartstring-fluttering vocals, working effortlessly as a stripped-down pair which consists of Evagelia Maravelias and Brian Wenckebach. Creating a sound reminiscent of Slowdive and Ivy with traces of Madonna and Garbage, Elika’s Trying Got Us Nowhere delightfully combines the sound of ‘90s electro-pop and current electronic music — even catching the attention of German electronic wunderkind Ulrich Schnauss, positioning themselves as his opening act at a recent New York show.

Recorded, mixed, and produced by Jason Martin (Starflyer 59), Trying Got Us Nowhere kicks in with “The Whip,” where Maravelias’ vocals startlingly echo Madonna’s more mature catalogue; but the lyrics strike more poignantly than any of the slightly vapid, lighthearted lyrics that the Queen Of Pop ever touched upon. Wenckebach’s expert programming cradles Maravelias’ clear voice, which haunts falteringly through synthesizers, drum machines, and foggy ambience. When Wenckebach kicks it into high gear with dense guitars, Maravelias doesn’t lose herself in this sonic blanket, but lifts her voice even more clearly above the beautiful racket.

The album dips down into a chillingly odd Mazzy Star–meets–ABBA moment with the spacious penultimate track, “They’ll Hate Us,” as Maravelia sings softly and precisely, “Here comes my daddy / With an open car door / He’s telling me to get in / And I watch him hit the floor as he says / It’s a long way back to my heart.” Trying Got Us Nowhere is ironically named, for it seems as though the album is an effortless step in notoriety’s direction.

—