Elf Power

Fourteen years into a largely unheralded career, Elf Power is still at it, even if the band has never made the big time. In fact, it never came close. Led by frontman Andrew Rieger, this indie-rock band has been the odd man out in some buzz-worthy scenes. Despite its association with the Elephant Six collective, an affiliation of likeminded under-the-radar bands, Elf Power never got to the level of peers like Apples in Stereo, who at least landed on Colbert. Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Elf Power arguably epitomizes the scene's college-rock aesthetic better than any contemporary band, but that didn't stop acts as divergent as Drive-By Truckers and of Montreal from having a larger cultural impact. Maybe the lack of crossover success has to do with the songs themselves — their lovely delicacy feels like a secret you want to guard. Consequently, fans clutched this group to their bosom, never letting the wider world discover them. Rieger was recently asked to name the best band from Athens no one's ever heard of. Surprisingly, he didn't name his own group — he would have been justified if he had. Elf Power will be performing at Modified with Vic Chesnutt, who collaborated with the band on October's Dark Developments.