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Elefant Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid
Kemado/Hollywood Records
Elefant, the most recent band to break out of the Detroit music scene,
have released their debut this year titled, Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid
(Kemado/Hollywood Records). And while without failing to have that
Motor City grind, Sunlight strays from the garage-rock path led by their
fellow predecessors, The White Stripes. Lead vocalist Diego Garcia's
melancholy voice surprisingly reflects that of Interpol frontman, Paul Banks, as does the musical layout. Although that may be a compliment, it's somewhat of
a letdown seeing as their first single, "Misfit," is actually a catchy
jam piece. This leads to the assumption that the rest of the album could
possibly mirror that, but it does not.
Track listing:
01 Make Up
02 Now That I Miss Her
03 Misfit
04 Bokkie
05 Tonight Let's Dance
06 Static on Channel 4
07 Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid
08 Annie
09 Love
10. Ester
The smooth Michiganders are Garcia, James Jeffrey Berrall (bass,
backing vocals), Kevin McAdams (drums) and, quite simply, Mod (guitar,
keyboard). And these guys are honest, as each track is literally a conversation or story put to music, making the album very down-to-earth and easy to
relate to.
The debut subtly steps out of the crowd with opening track "Make Up,"
which quite sweetly, is Garcia telling his girlfriend how much of her beauty
he takes in after she removes her makeup. Interestingly enough, as opposed
to other bands, Elefant provides the keyboards with just as much notoriety
as the guitar. The lyrics are genuine, and come together just right, to be
met with distinct bass lines and some Stroke-like riffs.
On "Bokkie," there is an extreme Interpol overload, down to the very
bass line from a track in "Antics." And this influencial grip that Interpol
seems to have on them strikes again in the title track behind the skipping
keyboard loop. For the most part, this is a record to lounge around to,
and even by listening to the tracks about breakups, the music stays
hopeful, and serves more as an upbeat relief than a typical downer. The songs on Sunlight are slower than anticipated after hearing "Misfit," but if curious about the idea of what Julian Casablancas would produce if teamed up with Paul Banks, then Sunlight is exactly that album.
