Whatever its cause, Elephant Micah’s situation in the geo-commercial margin has offered plenty of creative room to roam. After years of working off the grid, the band has developed a satisfyingly self-styled approach to writing and recording, feeding into a long string of rough-hewn but well-made albums. The musical ground this material covers might border that of freak folk, Americana, or other media-heralded roots revivals, but Elephant Micah tends to end up in a “country” all its own.

Like the best of Elephant Micah’s past work, Exiled Magicians is a set of haunting, loosely thematic tunes—an especially fruitful reworking of that centuries-old voice, verse, and guitar combination. The album’s first class analog audio (as recorded by Justin Vollmar on ½” tape) and often unexpected accompaniments (ranging from mountain fiddle to shaken amplifier) are added delights, all-in-all begging the question of how long Elephant Micah can hide out in the under-underground.

A hand-packaged CDR pre-release of Exiled Magicians was issued for Elephant Micah’s European tour in the fall of 2008, and even as a limited release, it received a fair amount of press, including mentions in several year-end lists. Review excerpts are below.

Much of the press around Elephant Micah seems to be about how there is so little press around Elephant Micah... What Joe O’Connell, under the name Elephant Micah, has in spade that other no-namers don’t is truly heartbreaking songs. It’s slow, it’s mournful, it’s deep and brooding and it’s pretty as all get out.
- Glorious Noise

Joe O’Connell is Elephant Micah, and you haven’t heard of him because he doesn’t have a myspace page, isn’t on a major label, and seems uninterested in garnering much attention for his music. Unlike Jandek, he isn’t even famous for not being famous. He’s just a guy with a guitar, making music that could tear your heart out. So make sure you don’t tell your friends how wonderful he is.
- Gotham Acme (also seen in Paste Magazine's The Meta-List: The 10 Best Lists of 2008)

Joe O'Connell has consistently churned out some of the best folk and folk rock music out there. "Exiled Magicians" sees O'Connell opting for a more stripped down sound with little to no guitar fuzz. This stripping down of his music has brought his stellar vocals into sharper focus. This is especially true on the tracks "Exotic Criminals" and "Levi and Daniel". ... So keep an eye out for this one, if you like O'Connell's work or emotional folk music this is a definite must-get.
- Beyond Brooklyn

Why more people do not know who Elephant Micah is is beyond me. Easily the greatest songwriter of our generation, hiding out in Indiana, creating record after record of pure brilliance. ... This newest record is probably his most mellow album to date, which is saying a lot. Basically, just beautiful.
- Culture Bully

Joe O’Connell brings his music to a new level on this one.  Gone is a lot of the reverb and he compensates by bringing the guitar, songwriting and song crafting to new heights - phenomenal!
- Slowcoustic

Fortune Telling makes me cry, that is my favorite favorite favorite song right now. Elephant Micah is so amazing with an incredible discography, so if you don't know about him and you happen to be a J. Tillman fan, check him out.
- My Heart's Beat

A few of my favorite things - 2008.
- Subject to Blog