Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power

If the freak-folk craze had done justice to brilliant eccentrics toiling in far-out rustic sounds, then Vic Chesnutt would be on the tip of the iPod generation’s tongue. But Chesnutt’s underdog reputation has followed him through most of his career, beginning in the early ’90s with friendly prodding from fellow Athens, Georgia, comrade Michael Stipe. Thankfully, Athenian love isn’t merely the stuff of historical blurbs. Chesnutt and Elephant 6 torchbearers Elf Power are touring together on the heels of the collaborative (sometimes with the Amorphous Strums) LP, Dark Developments. The album sounds like a revelation: Elf Power’s obsession with psychedelic ’60s pop actually tempers some of Chesnutt’s sad-sack impulses, and Chesnutt’s sinister wackiness adds a welcome dimension to Elf’s recent teeterings toward studio sterility.