Elephant

Elephant; another little gem that I’ve managed to come across thanks to the wondrous, and technological joys of MySpace (yes, that old chestnut), is an Italian foursome comprising of two pairs of brothers who come together with the lyrical and musical know-how, to produce a cascade of sound of their own.

Influenced by British and American alt/rock/indie bands, Elephant manage to take their own inspirations and create something new. Long gone are the days when any British band strummed out anything as well constructed as these riffs and fine picking, you’d have to go back to the alternative glory days of the early-mid 1990’s. Now, everything is mixed with electro, or produced to be too polished to make it radio-worthy, and it all ends up sounding “samey”, but not Elephant.  These guys have somewhat of a diverse quality about them and that’s what I really like.

 

Teasing listeners with only 3 songs up on their profile, they still show glimpses of big potential and an exclusive sound. “Will to Breathe” has strength in its layered (musically) intro, and does remind me somewhat of the VLA, and then the vocals meet with the sound to push the whole thing forward, and to give force and integrity to the elements of the track.  The instrumental parts are very inspiring and encouraging, especially when hearing soft and tender interludes to draw you in. I may keep going on about the guitar aspect, but it really is a highlight of their whole package. They’re a really great and consistent rock/alt band who appear to deliver. Towards the end of “Will to Breathe”, distant, phased vocals sound similar to that of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”, and the band also draw on (the very cool) blonde redhead, however, this is not to say they exactly copy them. In fact, (and also another plus point) Elephant cannot be assigned to one fixed genre, they just happen to be whatever you feel at the point of listening to them.

“Borderline” is another guitar-picking stunner, featuring mid-verse Biddy-esque riffs (impressive). “You just can’t think that you’re borderline” front man Erik sings, well Elephant aren’t borderline. They’re great. The rockier, grungier chorus also gives more impact and drive to their well-established composition. They combine elements to make something new and definitely interesting, and from the quality, I expect they make a very entertaining live band.

Luckily, the band have their own studio in which they’re free to roam and experiment, and I think that this pays off as they’re unique and distinct, rocky and engaging. Now let’s hear more please!

Hollywood Tease

Hollywood Tease.

22^nd May 2009 @ The Underground.

 

Friday night, the weekend has begun, and Hollywood Tease are headlining at The Underground. You can feel it, it’s gonna be huge. Even members of the band are milling about in the crowd before their set, mingling and creating suspense. Even the progression of the poor, and if generous, mediocre support bands, could not tarnish the monster performance that was in store from Hollywood Tease (HT) tonight.

You can almost smell the hairspray in the room from the glam-rock members of HT, but kudos to their attire, what with “Back to the Future” t-shirts, ripped leggings and various items of leather-wear, we see that 80’s rock is where their love lies, and where they draw inspiration from and make it their own. “You’ve been teased” fans are filling the place sporting tops and such like, indicating that the band already has an avid and steady following.

A curtain hides the stage (a first I’ve seen at The Underground, let alone for a local act, thus highlighting their supremacy), ready for the unveiling of the extravaganza known as HT. Queue in circus-like music and the theatrics, this is the show, and may the musical mayhem commence.  “Let Go” is the opener, featuring soaring guitar riffs and pounding drum rolls, along with a screaming: “Yeeeeeaahhhhhh!” from lead singer Ashe. If you close your eyes, you could almost swear it was Axl Rose on stage, and they do look the part too; bare chested and thrusting, complete with a “raw, loud and aggressive presence”.

Balloons start flying around the place with various obscenities written on them to emphasise their rock ‘n’ roll image, and more and more people begin to edge forward. The sexy women in the house also begin to swarm, swooning and surrounding the stage; going gaga for rockstars.  There are even women in the crowd wearing latex HT pants! Come to think of it, HT should have their own personal female entourage, yet, this is their effect, they ooze sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, even from the amps.

As I’ve said about this band before, they’re not distinct to Stoke. You wouldn’t guess that they’re a local band, and that, I believe, is where part of their magic lies. And, (whilst the crowd ruckus gets louder) as I’ve also said before, someone please get these guys a slot on the Download stage! From record to live performance, the translation is superb, and once more, for a local band they certainly exceed expectations.

There’s twin guitarring from Scotti and Tim, and their side-by-side action really portrays that guys really believe in and love what they’re doing, even if the giant crowd before them wasn’t there. The band synchronicity really does it for me. The vocals are astounding, and looking around, everyone is engaged, what with: solos, windmilling and mic swinging, HT have got their stage act to perfection as well as their sound. “See me on the stage…bring me to the top” has never been more poignant.

As they play on, it does actually make you feel guilty. You come to think: “Did I really just pay £4 to see this band, when they ought to be playing sell-out tours at stadiums here, there and everywhere?” At the risk of sounding snobby, they’re far too good for Stoke.  The guys also stop to take time to ask how the crowd are, thank the support acts, and of course to sweet talk the women, showing that they even have their swagger down to a fine art.

“Dirty Days” has one of the finest guitar intros; sounding finely tuned and having sweeping notes (none of this muffle rubbish that usually comes from similar bands trying to achieve the same thing), therefore showing that they are masters of their craft. You can hear every component working perfectly in harmony together to create their distinctive sound, and it’s mind-blowing.

Ashe continually caresses the mic stand, after all, making love is making music and that is their gospel. They even go on to play a cover of “Wild Side” paying homage to Motley Cru, for being a strong influence in what they do, and it’s a rampaging hit with the crowd, creating headbang central. In response to this, solos are carried out on the shoulders of the bassist and singer; becoming one (that one being a musical love machine), met with a deafening cheer.

The gig-goers were lapping it up, especially when encouraged to sing along: “Yeahhhhhh!” and “Hollywoooood!” at the top of their lungs, seeing HT live out their rock ‘n’ roll dreams.  Other standout lyrics “Turn it up…crank up the radio!” have never been more welcomed by the audience, whilst band members stop to pose for a number of cameras like the rockstars they are. Almost Rock-Gods.

Unsurprisingly, there was an encore as the crowd still wanted their fix of HT. They stormed back onto the stage with “Good Times” (one of their best), seeing more showers of sweat and confetti, but the whole feel was sexy.  Fans piled onto the stage also (yes…female fans…) and the whole vibe in the place was alive and electric.  The singer climbed onto the amp to give it his all (note to support bands: this is how it should be done), and then made it into the crowd to do his thing for the finale.

 

Hollywood Tease are definitely one of a kind. They are kind of a big deal. It may sound over-glorifying but it’s true. And I know you can only say “they’re so rock ‘n’ roll” so many times before it gets old, but these guys are rock ‘n’ roll personified.

So, if you’re looking to be highly entertained, aspired, entranced, amazed and enthralled and want to get your kicks to some pretty damn good rock tunes, DO NOT miss your next chance to see HT live.