Endorsement

I don’t really have a good excuse for saying this, but, whatever, I’m in charge here, and it’s not like you paid to get in. So: I’m a big fan of Eleni Mandell, and here new album, Miracle of Five, on the mighty Zedtone label, is out. (Here’s her site, here’s her MySpace page, where you can hear streams etc.) The standout track for me is “Salt Truck,” but other highlights include “Girls,” “My Twin,” “Make-Out King,” “Somebody Else,” and “Dear Friend.” In other words, most of the album.

Again: I’m a fan.

A few years ago I wrote this piece about Mandell, basically demanding to know why she wasn’t more famous. Predictably, the piece had no discernable impact. More recently, there have been some nice writeups on her in the current issue of Bust (which puts her on “the pedestal of indie goddesses, alongside femme fatales like PJ Harvey and Nico”), and in the Jan-Feb issue of No Depression, where I learned, among other things, that she was the singer in that Carl’s Jr. ad that got so much buzz. (It featured Paris Hilton smearing herself with hamburgers or something. I never saw it.) And, she recorded a for a Crest commercial! But her vocal wasn’t used in the end.

Looking at the article again, I see the perfect phony rationale for bringing all this up: The No Depression writer asks if she “wrestles with demons over getting in bed with Madison Avenue.” Not really, she replies.

And she’s been into sewing and knitting lately. Crafting is so on-trend! What more do you need to know? Buy the album (it’s on iTunes as well), make her famous. You’ll be glad you did.