Prolific Seattle-based pop oddball
Eric Elbogen, still operating under his
Say Hi moniker, offers up the second vampire-themed concept album of his career. Yes, while most bands are still trying to gather together their first collection of mythical being odes,
Elbogen has already produced a sequel to 2006's
Impeccable Blahs. The tone is set by opener "The Grass Is Always Greener," a strident, dark little rocker that introduces the character of Jenny who, for reasons unexplained, hurls a large boulder at her vampire neighbors who have yet to show her any aggression. There are songs about how much the vampires like the ladies ("It's a Hunger" and "Transylvania [Torrents of Rain, Yeah]"), songs about arrogant vampires driving humans from their homes ("Pirates of the Cities, Pirates of the Suburbs"), and offbeat references to
the Ramones and
Eddie Van Halen ("Teeth Only for You"). When
Elbogen is at the top of his game, this kind of eccentric bedroom pop works well, as on "Creatures of the Night" and the romantic invitation to immortality "Galaxies Will Be Born." Even if a lot of his material sounds familiar, there are plenty of unique and artful ideas contained within. ~ Timothy Monger