Fences
Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble
(Enci Records)
3.5/5
Christopher Mansfield, vocalist and guitarist of Seattle indie pop/rock band Fences, has lived a colourful life, including time spent in rehab. He’s tapped into that on the band’s new EP, Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble: the release is a great grab bag of emotions.
“Boot Height” is a mainstream-sounding pop number, which makes what follows a pleasant surprise, as the EP tones itself down in “The Folk and Lore” and “My Pale King.” What remains is Manfield’s smooth, steady vocals, which are easy on the ears and work well with the genre at hand. The background vocals create the illusion of a soft, insightful conversation on the EP’s last song, “Fake Snow.”
Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble is adventurous for indie/pop, and there’s something in it that almost everyone could like. For me, the vocals are the highlight: they’re always cerulean sounding, and are certainly the centre of this EP.