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!