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6 |
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Elephone |
| The Camera, Behind the Camera, Behind the Camera |
| Three Ring Records | 2006 | Album |
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A few times in the press for Elephone's album The Camera, Behind The Camera, Behind The Camera, they are referred to as the next great thing from San Francisco. Noted competition for that mantle might be rising stars Rogue Wave, Velvet Teen and the precociously dubbed, Film School. Clearly though, there is a crown to be sought, a point of rock prestige, this distinction of being the next best from the town once known to Chinese immigrants as Golden Mountain. Band leader Terry Ashkinos has even come out and said, "We're definitely interested in being a San Francisco band."
Listening to the raucous, tempestuous nine track album with the long name, it is clear that being the next in San Francisco is too confining; this might be the next band to rocket forward, a la The Strokes or The Vines who were apples-of-the-indie-eye at near conception. The power pop, punk rock and garage fusion elements are all there to carry that promise out of strict hyperbole. Clearly though, the vision is set on being a part of something. Elephone has balls -- their songs have bits of stoner rock, shoe gazer dreaminess, and that full-fledged, edge of a riot sensation that comes every time the tracks change to something new. The title song is perfect for three beers in: a throbbing, tense lullaby that melds in with that club haze feeling. As much as the sound on The Camera threatens to break apart in places, it is a controlled experiment. Witness the seemly genius of "Hemlock 3" and "Let Go Of My Arm," tracks that indicatively experience frenetic, energetic moods and dark irresistibility.
The foil of The Camera is that its title foretells a long repetition that hinders the record. At a glance, the songs might seem to blend together. Many of the peer comparisons for Elephone are to U2 -- heady, but not impossible stuff. What their elders have is a sense of variety that made each album a listenable challenge. It's unclear if the bay area's newest dandies will experience the same versatility in the coming years, but it might be necessary. They have enough gas here for a record of some distinction, but it needs to meld more interestingly with some of its suggestions. Best to get those kinks out of the way early. |
| Erick Mertz |
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