LA WEEKLY (may 28)
Another damn fine record by Eleni Mandell. Afternoon drips with all Mandell’s familiar virtues — the lyrics’ crushed romanticism, the arrangements’ spare elegance, the voice’s daydreamy beauty — and pours on another, the tight/loose consistency of her touring band. It’s led by ex-Creekdipper Joshua Grange, a guitarist of unerring cleanliness and taste, who also produced the disc with special attention to the sensual intimacy that’s Mandell’s greatest strength. Whether quietly exultant (“American Boy”) or quietly damaged (“Just a Dream”), Mandell makes you feel it in ways only Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline and a few others have done. A 2003 L.A. Weekly Best Songwriter award, five albums’ worth of killer material . . . hey, all that makes Mandell one of L.A.’s top attractions, doesn’t it? (Greg Burk)