The Power Out

The Power Out is perhaps best characterised by a "startling and unique" "stylistic hodgepodge".[6][7] The major stylistic themes of the album, which often overlap, are foreign languages and literary references.

The album opener, "Gone Under Sea" is sung entirely in French. The following song, "On Parade" was inspired by Radclyffe Hall's 1928 lesbian novel, The Well of Loneliness. A large part of the lyrics in "The Valleys" come from Siegfried Sassoon's 1917 poem "A Letter Home" (from The Old Huntsman).[2] The title of the fifth track, "Take The Bit Between Your Teeth," is another reference to The Well of Loneliness. The literary references continue on the sixth track, with "Oh Sombra!" The song's Spanish lyrics are a sonnet by 16th century Catalan poet Juan Boscán Almogáver. Finally, on "This Deed" the German lyrics are from Friedrich Nietzsche's Die fröhliche Wissenschaft followed by the inclamation "Hände hoch!" (or "Hands up!"). The lyrical content reflects a departure from the band's earlier album, which was almost entirely instrumental.

Musically, the album is less diverse than the lyrics, with Electrelane playing within their usual Krautrock-inspired range, although the songs could be considered to be more within conventional pop structures than their predecessors. Perhaps the most notable musical departure from Electrelane's norm is the inclusion of the Chicago a cappella ensemble for "The Valleys", to invoke a 1960s gospel hymn to the song.[6] A saxophone and a piano are used in the two closing tracks.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[9]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Los Angeles Times	[12]
Mojo	[13]
The Observer	[14]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[15]
Q	[16]
Uncut	[17]

Critical reception to The Power Out was generally very positive. While the band's use of other languages and literary references may have been referred to as gimmicks, they were regarded as gimmicks with merit.[18] The album was more focused than its predecessor,[3] with Emma Warren of The Observer, considering the album to be "a great example of how the band have transformed themselves from a sparky but essentially limited instrumental four-piece into the major league" and the New York Times calling it "impressive".[19]

All songs were written by Electrelane, except where noted.

1. "Gone Under Sea" – 3:12
2. "On Parade" – 2:35
3. "The Valleys" (Electrelane, Siegfried Sassoon) – 5:20
4. "Birds" – 3:53
5. "Take the Bit Between Your Teeth" – 4:58
6. "Oh Sombra!" (Electrelane, Juan Boscán Almogáver) – 2:58
7. "Enter Laughing" – 3:42
8. "This Deed" (Electrelane, Friedrich Nietzsche) – 3:24
9. "Love Builds Up" – 5:24
10. "Only One Thing Is Needed" – 4:33
11. "You Make Me Weak at the Knees" – 3:24

Some versions of the album contain the following bonus tracks:

• "I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen) – 2:16
• "Teach the Sailor to Pray" – 3:16

• Verity Susman – guitar, keyboards, saxophone, vocals, choir arrangement
• Emma Gaze – drums
• Mia Clarke – guitar
• Rachel Dalley – bass
• Chicago a cappella – vocals
• Steve Albini – engineer
• Steve Rooke – mastering