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his happy place , he ’ s held back at moments by his reserved vocal delivery . For Gold-Diggers he assembled some of LA ’ s finest musicians in a pandemic lockdown environment . But sometimes he ’ s too cool for his own good .
6 - David Gedge
6
JEFF ELBEL + PING The Three Finger Opera
( Marathon )
A few years ago , Chicago-area musician Jeff Elbel experienced a crushed nerve ending that denied him the use of two fingers on his left hand . This is bad news for someone who not only fronts his own band , the expansive Jeff Elbel + Ping , but sits in on guitar and bass for a myriad of musicians on a regular basis . Rather than sulk his way through an extensive healing process , Elbel decided to see what he could still do with his other three fingers . The result is this joyous , unfailingly optimistic new record , The Threefinger Opera . Across 13 tracks , it tells the story of Elbel ’ s struggle with his newfound condition , one that struck “ Like Lightning ,” as one of the songs says . But you won ’ t hear a trace of self-pity here . This is an album about readjusting your mindset , about realizing that life can slow you down , but it can ’ t stop you unless you let it . Such positivity is a Ping trademark . For more than 20 years , Elbel and his band have delivered highenergy rock marinated in some of the best pop music of the last five decades . The Threefinger Opera is their first in nine years , and it might well be their best . It is certainly their most focused . Its 39 minutes rocket by , both the story and the lush production carrying you along , and though it is consistent , it ’ s varied enough that it never loses your attention .
The new album is brimming with guest stars – the most famous of which is probably Cy Curnin of the Fixx , who provides opening and closing narration – but it doesn ’ t sound like one . Sonically , the spotlight remains on the core Ping band , including drummer John Blum , bassist Stacey Krejci , guitarist John Bretzlaff and keyboardist Mike Choby , with Elbel and the soulful Maron Gaffron trading off and blending their voices beautifully . Those guests , however , provide something of a travelogue of Elbel ’ s musical life . He ’ s played with most of the people who feature here , from guitarist Mike Roe of the 77s to singer / songwriter Beki Hemingway to percussionist Tom Sharpe , best known for his work with Mannheim Steamroller . The guests run the gamut , stylistically speaking , which shows how varied Elbel ’ s musical family is . He even makes room for his real family – both of
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his daughters make appearances here as well . The story starts with our hero feeling invincible . “ I ’ m Gonna Be Like That ,” a tale of childhood inspiration that devotes its entire first verse to the barrierbusting Kool-Aid Man , sets the tone well . It also tees up “ Unstoppable Me ,” an ELOstyle anthem that features a ukulele choir provided by Chicago ’ s own Beatleleles . “ Ready to encourage every Joe and Jan , fondly offer favor , happy helping hand ,” Elbel sings in a clever moment of foreshadowing . It ’ s an excellent example of one thing this album does very well . While its story is a specific one , you don ’ t really need to know it . Elbel ’ s lyrics are largely universal , full of hints ( and , yes , hand puns ) that point to the real-life inspiration but don ’ t prevent you from identifying with the songs and making them your own . Everyone ’ s had a moment where tragedy strikes out of nowhere , as it does in the funk-pop winner “ Like Lightning .” Everyone ’ s had medical fears (“ Mr . Madarakkis ”), everyone ’ s felt like their lives are on hold sometimes (“ Waiting Room ”), and everyone has been frustrated when things fall apart (“ Moan ”).
As a testament to Elbel ’ s cleverness here , check out “ Second Opinion ,” a classic-sounding country waltz with delicious pedal steel work by Ben Waligoske . Yes , this is a weeping waltz about confirming your doctor ’ s advice , but it ’ s disguised as a tale of romantic loss , and it works . The rollicking “ Lazy Louie ” is actually about the one finger Elbel could not get to move , even after months of therapy , but if you didn ’ t know that , it might take a few listens for the song ’ s hidden wit to snap into place . In its final stretch , The Threefinger Opera turns philosophical . “ Moan ” features sumptuous horns from a number of guest players and a lyric that I imagine Elbel sang to himself during his low moments : “ Moan ‘ cause it ’ s all coming apart now , moan but a smile is better glue , long way off without a doubt , just gonna have to wait it out and see it through …” “ In Your Hands ” is both a cover and a tribute to its author , Brian Healy , who died last year after suffering long-term medical problems of his own . The song ( with delightful violin parts played by Matt Gadeken ) is about leaving your worries up to a higher power , and it serves as a thematic end point . “ Slowly But Surely ” concludes the story on a note of grace , with some sweet trumpet by Calexico ’ s Martin Wenk . “ Healing is coming , slowly but surely ,” Elbel sings , and though he is referencing his own woes , he could be singing about any and all of us . “ Morning is coming , it happens each day …”
Elbel and his cohorts have certainly made the first rock opera about needing an operation . But while the true-life origins of this set of songs might pique your interest , it ’ s the songs themselves and the rich , full , clear production that will bring you back . The Threefinger Opera could have been a novelty or a curiosity . Instead , it turns out to be a thoughtful , well-written suite about overcoming life ’ s little difficulties with hope and perseverance . Oh , and it ’ s a lot of fun , too . ( ping . bandcamp . com )
8 – Andre Salles
8
GARY KEMP Insolo
( Sony )
Gary Kemp ’ s career would make any musician envious , to say nothing of his film and TV highlight reel or his professorial expertise on all things David Bowie
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nice change — a nice refreshing change — to not be the center of the thing if that makes sense . When you ’ re going in to help somebody else , you can ’ t really take your own ego into that , so it doesn ’ t really matter what you do in your band or on your own time because that ’ s not your job at the moment . And I think it ’ s been nice to have that juxtaposition .”
So while fans might view standalone single “ Here With Me ” — Chvrches ’ soulful 2019 team-up with Marshmello — as an obvious home run , Mayberry is more proud of the quieter ones . “ For me , a success is if somebody leaves the ( writing ) room happy with what they got ,” she ventures . “ I never really think about it any other way because you never really know what ’ s going to happen with a song or with a record when somebody leaves . But — especially when it ’ s a female artist , and given all the experiences that I had in my life and my work — if somebody feels seen and listened to , and that they actually accomplished something that day ? Then I think that I ’ ve done my job .”
The Mayberry / Doherty cottage industry was picking up steam when the pandemic shut everything down . And not to paraphrase Dickens , the singer sighs , “ but we chose a really good time , bad time to be here because now we can ’ t go anywhere .” Chvrches had already planned on taking 2020 off after two solid years of touring behind its third Love is Dead opus . And as she dug into her horror-flick schematic for Album No . Four , watching a slew of gruesome gore fests in the process , she again stumbled across Joel Schumacher ’ s 1987 cult-favorite The Lost Boys . Around the same time , she was delighted to discover a newer entry like Final Girls . Set in the fictional seaside California town of Santa Carla , Lost Boys wound up inspiring her moribund “ California ” lyric . “ For me , that song was like writing through the lens of freaky Santa Carla , about people dying in California , and they ’ re being killed by vampires — that ’ s one read on it ,” Mayberry says . “ But then an actual read on it is how we moved here to get writing jobs , and how none of that really matters now , and now you ’ re probably going to die in California , completely disconnected from all your friends and family . And you only know one guy ( Doherty ), and he ’ s in a house down the road , but you can ’ t really see him .” She takes a deep , calming breath , exhales .” So it was a VERY cathartic piece when we wrote that one , I think ,” she adds .
However dark their firmament , the stars all seemed to align for Chvrches in 2020 , just the world shuddered to a halt . The band name was still in the public eye , thanks to the Marshmello collab and “ Death Stranding ,” a track commissioned for a video game of the same name by renowned Metal Gear Solid designer Hideo Kojima . Mayberry had an empathic new understanding of her own songwriting skills — ‘ Plays well with others ,’ her pandemic report card would have read — and Cook and Doherty were feeling the urge to revisit vintage synth-rock sounds and warmer textures from the ‘ 80s , via fave bands from that period like OMD , Depeche Mode , plus New Order and its Joy Division precursor , and even — on the sinister-carnival-evoking Final Girl itself — Rio-era Duran Duran . They had even set
aside the suggestive album title , which Mayberry had found in a decade-old book of nixed potential band names . It didn ’ t take them long to agree on an allegorical theme , where Elm Street crosses paths with Camp Crystal Lake — machetes optional .
“ We were really lucky for the most part because we ’ d planned to take 2020 off to make the record ,” says Mayberry , who got into the spooky swing of things by growing her hair long and dying it blonde to resemble Drew Barrymore ( perhaps channeling Barbara Crampton ) in one of her alltime favorite nail-biters , Scream . “ We only had a little summer touring planned , and that was a fortunate position to be in because a lot of bands we knew were just gearing up to put out albums ( at lockdown ). So I think there ’ s an energy to this record that ’ s really special because it was made in a vacuum — we worked remotely , and the band didn ’ t really exist outside of the three people that were in it anymore .” Sans tours , press junkets , and promotional duties like TV appearances , she asks , rhetorically , “ What IS a band when you take all those things away ? It ’ s about writing , and last year , that became a steady , consistent thing . We ’ d meet up every day on Zoom and do our writing , and you ’ re working on music with your colleagues , but also your friends , in real-time , talking about the horrible shit that everybody was going through .” As awkward as it sounds , she adds , she ’ ll treasure that trial by fire , always . Spare time , of course , was spent Netflixing down the ghoulish rabbit hole for film research . Besides Final Girls , Mayberry can easily pinpoint three spectral favorites that topped her list after repeated viewings : Carrie (“ Stephen King writes female characters so well , and that movie means so many things , on so many levels ,” she praises ); the original Halloween (“ Because John Carpenter is the absolute greatest — he ’ s making the music AND writing and directing the films , and it ’ s just impressive to me that he did that ,” she says ); and , of course , the satirical Scream .
“ And it makes a lot of sense as a reference for this record ,” she reveals , “ because it is that meta , talking-about-the-mediumwhilst-making-the-medium kind of thing , and I think that ’ s incredibly clever . The sequels I could do without , but the original is great , and the whole point of me dying my hair was to kind of play with the tropes of women in horror . So if I can be blonde like the Drew Barrymore character , who only lasts for five minutes , what would people project onto you ? Because in order to be the true final girl , you have to have an innocence , and the audience needs to root for you .” She pauses for effect . She ’ s given this considerable thought : “ But what if you don ’ t have that ? What if you feel like the Scream Queen , but you ’ re actually not the Final Girl ? What do those things mean ? So maybe only a few people other than me will pick up on these things . But that research was really helpful for my writing process .”
In the cover art for the album ’ s syncopated folk / pop / dance pastiche of a single , “ Good Girls ” — which sneeringly deconstructs society ’ s simpleminded sexist strictures for what constitutes a female of good moral breeding — Mayberry even taps into the Nagel-print-retro look of a Brian De Palma femme fatale , circa 1984 ’ s Body Double . And she unveils her brilliant ideas in such an authoritative , rapid-fire volley that she effortlessly packs a two-hour talk into 35 condensed minutes . So we don ’ t
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