{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox album | name = The Power Out | type = Album | artist = Electrelane | cover = Electrelane-ThePowerOut.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|df=yes|2004|1|26}} | recorded = April 2003 – May 2003 | studio = Electrical Audio, Chicago, Illinois | venue = | genre = Post-rock | length = 43:25 | language = English, French, Spanish, German | label = Beggars Banquet | producer = Steve Albini | prev_title = Rock It to the Moon | prev_year = 2001 | next_title = Axes | next_year = 2005 | misc = {{Singles | name = The Power Out | type = Album | single1 = On Parade | single1date = 20 October 2003 | single2 = This Deed | single2date = 26 April 2004 }} }}
'''''The Power Out''''' is the second album by English rock group Electrelane. It was released on compact disc and vinyl in 2004 by Too Pure. It was recorded in Chicago, Illinois in early 2003 by Steve Albini. The album's lead single, "On Parade" was a hit on college radio.<ref>{{cite web|title=Listen2This: The Charts|work=Entertainment Weekly|date=19 March 2004|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,600226,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602175807/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,600226,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 June 2011|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref> The album did not receive mainstream commercial success, despite receiving mostly positive critical reviews.
==Background==
===Signing with Too Pure===
The band's first release, ''Rock It to the Moon'' received limited commercial response due to limited distribution, promotion, and exposure. The band signed with Too Pure, a member of the Beggars Group, for their follow-up. As drummer Emma Gaze explained, the new label had "so many people and departments, and we knew, purely for that reason, that there would be more response to the new album."<ref name="SFBG">{{cite web|last=Draper|first=Jimmy|title=Electre'lady land: All-woman U.K. band Electrelane mess with our heads|publisher=San Francisco Bay Guardian|date=15 September 2004|url=http://www.sfbg.com/38/51/art_music_electrelane.html|access-date=14 February 2008|quote=So it's not entirely surprising that, despite an initially lackluster response, America is coming around to Electrelane's unusually eclectic sound. 'It was sad that the first album seemed to get lost, but obviously we didn't have lots of people working with us [to help get it heard],' explains Gaze, who cofounded the band with Susman in 1998, over the phone from her Brighton home. 'Now we've got the Beggars Group – they're huge. They have so many people and departments, and we knew, purely for that reason, that there would be more response to the new album.'}}</ref>
Critics also commented that Too Pure was a good fit for Electrelane, as many of the other label's acts (such as Stereolab and Th' Faith Healers) shared similarities with the group.<ref name="AMG"/><ref name="DiS">{{cite web|last=Edwards|first=Tom|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|publisher=Drowned in Sound|year=2004|url=http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/9084.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602014537/http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/9084.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 June 2004|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref>
===Production===
The band brought in producer Steve Albini for ''The Power Out''. Initially, Mia Clarke had contacted him to try to get a spot on the All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) music festival. The roster had already been filled, but Albini wrote back to the band telling them to contact him if they wanted to work with him in the future.<ref name="SFBG"/> The band went to Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Illinois and recorded the album in a break-free three-week period from April to May 2003.<ref name="Neumu">{{cite web|last=Carew|first=Anthony|title=Electrelane find their voice|publisher=Neumu|date=23 March 2004|url=http://www.neumu.net/datastream/2004/2004-00030/2004-00030_datastream.shtml|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref>
Electrelane still handled production duties, while Albini was in charge of recording and mixing. With ''Rock It to the Moon'' using overdubs and Pro Tools mixing, Albini was renowned for frills-free, all-analog recording, generally keeping effects to a minimum; he used these techniques on ''The Power Out'' as well.
==Content==
''The Power Out'' is perhaps best characterised by a "startling and unique" "stylistic hodgepodge".<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web|last=Ott|first=Chris|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|work=Pitchfork|date=2 March 2004|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17406-the-power-out|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="Observer">{{cite web|last=Warren|first=Emma|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|publisher=The Observer|date=1 February 2004|url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/10bestcds/story/0,12102,1133072,00.html|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref> The major stylistic themes of the album, which often overlap, are foreign languages and literary references.
The album opener, "Gone Under Sea" is sung entirely in French. The following song, "On Parade" was inspired by Radclyffe Hall's 1928 lesbian novel, ''The Well of Loneliness''. A large part of the lyrics in "The Valleys" come from Siegfried Sassoon's 1917 poem "A Letter Home" (from ''The Old Huntsman'').<ref name="SFBG"/> The title of the fifth track, "Take The Bit Between Your Teeth," is another reference to The Well of Loneliness. The literary references continue on the sixth track, with "Oh Sombra!" The song's Spanish lyrics are a sonnet by 16th century Catalan poet Juan Boscán Almogáver. Finally, on "This Deed" the German lyrics are from Friedrich Nietzsche's ''Die fröhliche Wissenschaft'' followed by the inclamation "Hände hoch!" (or "Hands up!"). The lyrical content reflects a departure from the band's earlier album, which was almost entirely instrumental.
Musically, the album is less diverse than the lyrics, with Electrelane playing within their usual Krautrock-inspired range, although the songs could be considered to be more within conventional pop structures than their predecessors. Perhaps the most notable musical departure from Electrelane's norm is the inclusion of the Chicago a cappella ensemble for "The Valleys", to invoke a 1960s gospel hymn to the song.<ref name="Pitchfork"/> A saxophone and a piano are used in the two closing tracks.
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings |MC = 78/100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-power-out/electrelane|title=Reviews for The Power Out by Electrelane|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=5 July 2019}}</ref> |rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-power-out-mw0000333335|title=The Power Out – Electrelane|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Phares|first=Heather}}</ref> |rev2 = ''Blender'' |rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://blender.com/reviews/review_1787.html|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|magazine=Blender|issue=24|date=March 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Hsu|first=Hua|page=117|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618085141/http://blender.com/reviews/review_1787.html|archive-date=18 June 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref> |rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' |rev3score = A−<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|issue="Listen 2 This" supplement|date=February 2004|page=16}}</ref> |rev4 = ''The Guardian'' |rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/jan/30/popandrock.shopping6|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|work=The Guardian|date=30 January 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Sullivan|first=Caroline}}</ref> |rev5 = ''Los Angeles Times'' |rev5score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-11-ca-rack11-story.html|title=Follow-up transcends traditions|work=Los Angeles Times|date=11 April 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Hochman|first=Steve}}</ref> |rev6 = ''Mojo'' |rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|journal=Mojo|issue=123|date=February 2004|page=102}}</ref> |rev7 = ''The Observer'' |rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/10bestcds/story/0,12102,1133072,00.html|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|work=The Observer|date=1 February 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Warren|first=Emma|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040215145622/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10bestcds/story/0,12102,1133072,00.html|archive-date=15 February 2004|url-status=live}}</ref> |rev8 = ''Pitchfork'' |rev8score = 7.5/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2723-the-power-out/|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|work=Pitchfork|date=1 March 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|last=Ott|first=Chris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221092809/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2723-the-power-out/|archive-date=21 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> |rev9 = ''Q'' |rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|magazine=Q|issue=212|date=March 2004|page=102}}</ref> |rev10 = ''Uncut'' |rev10score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/electrelane/reviews/6919|title=Electrelane – The Power Out|magazine=Uncut|issue=81|date=February 2004|access-date=5 July 2019|page=71|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011204051/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/electrelane/reviews/6919|archive-date=11 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> }}
Critical reception to ''The Power Out'' was generally very positive. While the band's use of other languages and literary references may have been referred to as gimmicks, they were regarded as gimmicks with merit.<ref name="Stylus">{{cite web|last=Miron|first=Dan|title=Electrelane: The Power Out|work=Stylus Magazine|date=26 January 2005|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/electrelane/the-power-out.htm|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref> The album was more focused than its predecessor,<ref name="AMG"/> with Emma Warren of ''The Observer'', considering the album to be "a great example of how the band have transformed themselves from a sparky but essentially limited instrumental four-piece into the major league" and ''The New York Times'' calling it "impressive".<ref>{{cite news|last=Sanneh|first=Kelefah|title=Singing in Four Languages, Revealing in None|work=The New York Times|date=3 April 2004|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E7DB1339F930A35757C0A9629C8B63&scp=5&sq=electrelane&st=nyt|access-date=14 February 2008}}</ref>
==Track listing==
All songs were written by Electrelane, except where noted.
# "Gone Under Sea" – 3:12 # "On Parade" – 2:35 # "The Valleys" (Electrelane, Siegfried Sassoon) – 5:20 # "Birds" – 3:53 # "Take the Bit Between Your Teeth" – 4:58 # "Oh Sombra!" (Electrelane, Juan Boscán Almogáver) – 2:58 # "Enter Laughing" – 3:42 # "This Deed" (Electrelane, Friedrich Nietzsche) – 3:24 # "Love Builds Up" – 5:24 # "Only One Thing Is Needed" – 4:33 # "You Make Me Weak at the Knees" – 3:24
Some versions of the album contain the following bonus tracks: *"I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen) – 2:16 *"Teach the Sailor to Pray" – 3:16
==Personnel== *Verity Susman – guitar, keyboards, saxophone, vocals, choir arrangement *Emma Gaze – drums *Mia Clarke – guitar *Rachel Dalley – bass *Chicago a cappella – vocals *Steve Albini – engineer *Steve Rooke – mastering
==Release history== {|class="wikitable" ! Region ! Date ! Label ! Format ! Catalog |- |rowspan="2"| United Kingdom |rowspan="2"| {{Start date|df=yes|2004|1|26}} |rowspan="2"| Too Pure | CD | PURE 142CD |- | 12" LP | PURE 142LP |- | United States | {{Start date|df=yes|2004|2|3}} | Too Pure, Beggars Banquet | CD | PURE 142 |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Electrelane}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power Out, The}} Category:2004 albums Category:Beggars Banquet Records albums Category:Electrelane albums Category:Albums produced by Steve Albini