Jihae – Elvis is Still Alive

The first time I mentioned the slanky and topless Jihae was that her EP Afterthought was very “striking”. She’s done it again with her latest full length album, Elvis is Still Alive (released November 11^th through Septem Records), dressed up as Elvis Presley with bad makeup. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but looking at the cover artwork for Elvis is Still Alive reminded me a lot of Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train (1989).

Unlike her Afterthought EP, this album isn’t as beaty or dancey. In fact, Elvis is Still Alive is pretty mellow/chill music. Her breathy Asian accent combined with melodic shoegazing music makes her music like a softcore French 70s soundtrack. But don’t take my words for it, take a listen to “Fig Leaf” on her myspace and the hippy-ish video for “Best Thing”.

Is this a bad thing? No, of course not, if you’re in the mood for a down-tempoed Mazzy Star or a quiet evening, this is an excellent album to have on the stereo.

There was one song that really stood out on the album for me. It’s a duet with Ivan Evangelista called “Pink Sands”, which is slightly more upbeat than the other songs. In fact, I don’t know if the song actually should’ve belong on the album, but it definitely made me perk up when the song played.

If you’re interested in purchasing Elvis is Still Alive, it is available at the usual places, but if you check out elvisisstillalive.com there is an interesting “pay as you like” download thing. There is a minimum of $3 though, but it’s still worth sampling if you are interested in more music. I do always suggest buying the physical copy though, if nothing else but backup in case your computer fails you.