It's really a shame Private Eleanor didn't achieve a higher profile before going on hiatus in late 2007. The band from Baltimore had several well-regarded releases, including what should have served as their breakthough in the 2007 album Sweethearting. Their combination of softly lilting songs and guy-girl vocals are exactly what appeal to fans of Mojave 3 or Yo La Tengo, groups to which Private Eleanor has been compared at various times. Add in a healthy dose of upbeat, slightly jangly tunes and you have a band to watch.
Private Eleanor came to my attention with a track on a Magnet Magazine CD sampler as each issue had a disc of new music. It was a spring night in 2007 when I first heard 'A better way to run' and could not stop listening. I've always been attracted to catchy music and this was ear candy. I immediately found the band's website and purchased the CD. I was pleased to receive the album in a package mailed by PE primary songwriter Austin Stahl.
It is hard for me to compare Private Eleanor with anyone else. No, they're not the most original band, and I understand why Mojave 3 or Yo La Tengo get used as comparisons. My own personal comparison is to the seemingly long-forgotten Aussie band Sea Stories.* They had a similar song dynamic and were similarly lost in the public consciousness despite releasing a couple of albums on I.R.S. Records.
*Music geek story/trivia: I met Sea Stories members Simon Honisett and Penny Hewson in 1996 when they were touring to support their post-Sea Stories project Gigantaur. Both were exceptionally nice people as they co-hosted an episode of my Sunday night radio show and played in-studio. During our discussion I learned Simon's dad had done artwork for many Australian postage stamps, some of which were in my collection. It was an odd connection but one we thought was funny at the time. The last I heard Simon was living in Portland, Oregon while Penny was back in Australia and ran the Choc Chip Records label for a while.
What Stahl and the rest of Private Eleanor created was a sublime sonic tapestry. The instrumentation is always just right on Sweethearting; nothing is too loud or too soft. It probably helps that much of the album was recorded live in the same room, but having producer T.J. Lipple was a good move as well. The results display the work and rehearsals that must have been involved in producing the album.
What really helps Private Eleanor stand out is the vocal interaction between Stahl and Marian Glebes. It seems to me this is a case of two voices being better than one. When Glebes and Stahl mesh the songs excel. That is not to say it's necessary for everything to be a duet. On a quieter acoustic guitar/piano driven song such as 'Consider the archer' you feel it when Stahl sings "Tonight feels like home, but I wonder if it won't be recalled as the end of something." It's a plaintive song and Stahl conveys the emotion perfectly.
But it's the more upbeat numbers where I fell in love with Private Eleanor. There is a nominal story through the album, and it ends with a mostly optimistic outlook in 'This year I'm going to see the sun.' I understand the hopefulness in a lyric such as "I'd forgotten how the light looks when the sun's this low in the sky, and the feeling of possibility when you know it's on the rise." However, it is immediately tempered by "But the sensation's fleeting." It is that cautious optimism I found endearing in Private Eleanor.
Due to band member's schedules, school responsibilities, life, etc. Private Eleanor announced they were going on indefinite hiatus in November 2007. All is not lost though: the band is still selling copies of Sweethearting on their site for $5 shipping included. Treat yourself to a lost treasure.
A Better Way To Run by Private Eleanor (5382 KB)
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This Year I'm Going To See The Sun by Private Eleanor (8149 KB)
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If you order Sweethearting you may receive a free copy of the Baltimore band compilation This City of Neighborhoods if any are left. On it are a couple of tracks by Pupa's Window, a band of which Austin Stahl is a casual contributor. Though 'Warm Embrace' hasn't been released on an album yet, I thought this short song was very promising.
Warm Embrace by Pupa's Window (3564 KB)
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