Eleni Mandell

Country for True Lovers (Zedtone)

By Katherine Gorell
Published: March 24th, 2003 | 12:21pm

Gillian Welch and Neko Case basically have the alt country market cornered where siren songwriters are concerned, but Eleni Mandell's Patsy Cline-inspired chronicles of unrequited love make a welcome addition to a genre that's mostly lost its bluegrass grassroots and, like pop-punk, has gone full-on fabricated (à la Avril Lavigne) on us.

The best tracks are the opener, "Just Another Lonely Heart," "I've Got a Tender Heart," and "Don't Touch Me," all of which address the perennial topic of heartbreak. In this atmosphere of preemptive action, I urge anyone who thinks she might fall in love this spring to have Country for True Lovers on hand...either way you'll be safe. The quality production and musicianship benefit from the assistance of Tony Gilkyson (X/Lone Justice guitarist) but mostly showcase Eleni's amazingly standalone talent.

On her web site, Ms. Mandell encourages listeners to "grab your honey and dance real close when you listen to this album. Nothing would please me more." Yes, ma'am.