https://elevant.bandcamp.com/track/hide-it-away-3
What are we talking about?
Gather round sheeple, today we take an audio tour with the people of Elevant and their latest single ‘Hide It Away’. Released on their own label Elevant Music Limited; how cool is that?! Members: Michael Edward - Guitar/Vocals Tom Shand - Drums/Shouting Hannah Lodge- Bass/Backing Vocals
What hooked me?
I’m always impressed by bands who also manage to run their own label. Also nice words were said about the sound of these guys in corridors of Yeah Buddy Towers. I heard the opening bass riff and we were off. Key moments: The opening bass riff as was just mentioned centimetres ago is pretty dark yet funky at the same time, there is a disembodied wail in the background then suddenly we fall into a very catchy Modest Mouse esque shouty intro/chorus. The extra percussion is brilliant in this intro as well. The congas or bongos or whatever is going on along with the cool drumbeat works well and should get even the most rigid of folk unintentionally getting a shuffle on.
The big standout moment comes after the choruses. The riff madness that takes over is brilliant and totally unexpected. Chaotically heavy in comparison to the main body of the song, it has a Mars Volta or QOTSA vibe to it that will shift that aforementioned shuffling into the all-out throwing around of oneself.
The songs outro coming in at 2.55 leads us on a 34 second odyssey of disintegration. The guitar gets more and more unhinged as the drums and bass being to fall down an audible flight of stairs but in such a fashion it sounds perfectly intentional. Odd yet cool. Artwork: It is a face structured out of sounds waves like those on that Joy Division t-shirt you see everywhere. The white image on a black background goes well with the text. It’s mysterious enough to make you want to click on the song or pick it up from the rack. The more time I spend looking at it (which is a while, I’m not the fastest worker in the employ of our musical overlord) the cooler it gets. You could easily imagine it on posters.
Feedback:
Took me a few listens to really get to grips with this song. The various parts sound like they could each come from different songs yet they work well together. The musicianship of such a feat should be admired. The Guitar is busts out some crazy sounds throughout while the Bass holds everything together in the darkness. The Drums and Percussion are great, driving the song and adding the flourishes that make the whole thing stand-out that bit more.
The post-chorus riff though is immense, absolutely belting bit of music, each band member and their instrument truly give it hell. The complexity and power of the track becomes all the more impressive when you remember that there is only three of these guys. I can imagine this trio to be on the louder side of loud live as well.
Summary:
Overall this is an interesting song. Not only is it musically intriguing but the song also has that thing about it that makes you want to move along with it. Which is a combination many bands strive for and do not often achieve. Looking forward to hearing more from Elevant
Line From The Band:
Elevant frontman Michael Edward told us;
“We're working on new material at the moment, there's another single recorded and a load of unfinished material. We don't know what it's gonna be yet, maybe an album of tighter shorter stuff and an E.P of vicious stuff, but it's early days.
We like ‘Hide it Away’ because it's the first thing Hannah's written the main framework for we've got more democratic in our process, we put it out because Hannah's went away to Vietnam so we needed to fill the gap while the band's basically been out of action.”
Vital Info:
All of these;
Elevant
http://elevantband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ElevantMusik/
https://twitter.com/elevantband
https://elevant.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/elevantmusik/
Elevant Music Limited
http://elevantmusiclimited.com/
https://www.facebook.com/elevantmusiclimited/
https://twitter.com/ElevantMusicLtd
Reviewer Profile:
Kenn Rushworth can be found drumming for miserable rock trio Forever in Debt/ making notes/ looking for his keys. twitter: @attheharbour