| When the Red King Comes | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Elf Power |
| Cover: | Elfpowerredking.jpg |
| Released: | 1997 |
| Genre: | Indie pop, indie rock |
| Label: | Arena Rock Recording Co. |
| Prev Title: | Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Title: | A Dream in Sound |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
When the Red King Comes is the second album by the Elephant 6 band Elf Power.[1] [2] It is a concept album about the Red King's kingdom. The cover art is taken from a section of an imaginary map called “The Land of Make Believe”, drawn in 1930 by Jaro Hess. A more complete version of the map can be seen in The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands.
"Needles in the Camels Eyes" is a cover of the Brian Eno song.[3]
Trouser Press wrote that "though still noisy, the improved sound coincides with a sharper focus in the songwriting (that's good) and the first hint of impending mythological obsessions (not so good)."[4] The Chicago Tribune thought that "in Elf Power's hands, psychedelia is a means of transforming personal trauma into a twisted kind of triumph."
AllMusic wrote that "the fuzzy, lo-fi production is an Elephant 6 hallmark, but the unique instrumentation (electric horns, pump organs, even Nepalese percussion) and cryptic, stream-of-consciousness wordplay suggest something altogether different."
All songs written by Andrew Rieger unless otherwise noted.