Elephant Stone Outgrows Their Name, For the Better

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 15, 2013 3:20PM

You've got to have balls to name your band Elephant Stone, sharing a name with the first single off The Stone Roses' epochal self-titled debut, so we admit initially approaching this Montreal quartet with great caution. Their debut was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, so we weren't expecting the band to be terrible, but we did harbor thoughts that to a certain extent they may be a glorified tribute band. And we admit to not being exactly knocked out by said debut and did feel that perhaps Elephant Stone would've benefited under a different name that didn't beg such immediate comparisons to a legendary predecessor. So what's the verdict on their self-titled sophomore effort?

Elephant Stone is growing into their cojones.

There's still a Manchesterian element to their sound, but leader (and sitar player) Rishi Dhir seems to be guiding the band into a more timeless psychedelic pop groove, and it's surely an improvement. The group even goes so far as to construct a few straight ahead power pop gems—"Hold Onto Yr Soul" could easily be an outtake from a Teenage Fanclub album—and this variety helps set Elephant Stone apart from their earlier work. Want to sit back and suck on a water pipe? Throw on "Looking Thru Baby Blue " and lose yourself in some deep, fluffy pillows as the wandering guitar line tucks you in for the song's duration. Or sample the deep Indian grooves of "The Sea Of Your Mind " as it explores the upper reaches of its own musical stratosphere. Trippy, man.

When you have a sitar at the center of much of your music it could be easy to immediately drift into a stereotypically latter-day Beatles mindset, but Elephant Stone neatly sidesteps this temptation and focuses on writing catchy songs first and melds other influences in naturally after that core is established. It's this approach that levitates Elephant Stone's new album into a new, more distinctive category and displays a great amount of growth since their debut.

Elephant Stone plays Aug. 16 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W Belmont, 8:30 p.m., $12, 17+

NOTE: It is possible to pay homage to a musical hero via band name without aping said hero's sound. See also: Spoon, Velocity Girl, Death Cab For Cutie, Pretty Girls Make Graves, et al.