Rating: NNNN
As impressive as Eleni Mandell’s recent detours into country and jazz have been, her accomplished fifth release, Afternoon, suggests that they were really just a warm-up. With all the vocal stretching and boundary-testing now behind her, a cool and confident Mandell conjures both the wanton lust and the quiet desperation of unrequited love just as deftly as she does the self-loathing aftermath that adds an intriguingly dark counterpoint to Afternoon’s outwardly breezy reveries. The straightforward arrangements and spare accompaniment of her touring combo help make Afternoon Mandell’s most immediately accessible recording yet, but, then, that’s all part of the devilishly clever set-up. Eleni Mandell returns to play the Drake Hotel July 6.