Indie Bands (2)

Amelia Rivas and Christian Pinchbeck don't just sing about feverish, frayed and  fractured romances – in the three years since forming  Elephant, they've been living one.

Their first recordings, recorded in the strung out early mornings after the night before, were delirious and light-headed. Rivas’ stream of conscious lyricism combined with Pinchbeck’s innate melodic nous to create vignettes of delight and wonder.  A debut single followed, 2011’s woozy Ants, followed by the Assembly EP.   But before they had a chance to capitalise on the growing acclaim around them the duo’s relationship broke down, almost to the point of no return.

That seemed to be Elephant’s graveyard.  Yet an unexpected rapprochement in late 2012, and a renewed musical hunger saw Rivas and Pinchbeck reconcile.  The first fruit was this year’s gauzy single Skyscraper, which announced their return in spectacular fashion, with Rivas’ swooping vocals allied to a spectral chorus creating an eerie, lens-flared 3 minute wonder of song.

Now, new release Shapeshifter provides confirmation that Elephant are truly back as a force to be reckoned with. “I flew to the moon to mirror you and I saw the future” sings Rivas, with a raw melancholy and nostalgic longing. A sumptuous missive of love lost and lessons learned, that sparkles with charm, optimism, and the sort of lush swoonsome string arrangements that reach into your chest and wring your heart dry. 

Backed by the sparse and stretched out Snowday, as icily cool as it sounds, full of chiaroscuro contrasts and flickering atmospherics, it’s a release that suggests their debut album is set to be one of the standout albums of 2014.

ELEPHANT LINKS: 
 
Facebook - www.facebook.com/elephanttheband    
Twitter – www.twitter.com/ElephantTwit  
Label -  www.memphis-industries.com


Elephant - Shapeshifter

Debut single 'Bud' released October 21 (UK)/November 4th (US) on Fat Cat.

Buy the limted edition vinyl here: fatcat.sandbaghq.com/honeyblood-bud-pre-order.html

From the new 'Fading West' EP available now: http://smarturl.it/fadingwestep


Watch the trailer for 'Fading West' - http://youtu.be/iJ1ynQ46984 
'Who We Are' official music video premiering on RollingStone.com Wednesday 9.18.13 

On tour this fall - head to switchfoot.com for tickets and info: 

Lyrics: 

1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
 
We were just kids just living in
Wide-eyed, innocence
minivan floor like a tenement
We were just kids who believed in
More than just dreams in
More than just justified
Ends to a means
 
With the sky wide-open
Like a child, eyes-open
like a child, unbroken
by the wheels gone by
We know
 
Who we are
(in the fever of our youth)
Who we are
(We’ve got nothing left to lose)
Who we are
(There’s still time enough to choose)
Who we are
Who we are
Who we are
 
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
 
We were just kids
Just limited, misfit, itinerant
Outcasts singing bout the dissonance
 
We were just kids, wide-open
Like a child, eyes-open,
Like a child, unbroken
by the wheels gone by
 
We know
 
Who we are
(in the fever of our youth)
Who we are
(We’ve got nothing left to lose)
Who we are
(There’s still time enough to choose)
Who we are
Who we are
Who we are
 Who we are
Who we are
 
They said it’s complicated
They said we’d never make it this far
But we are
 
They said the fight would break us
But the struggle helped to make
Who we are
 
Who we are
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Who we are
(in the fever of our youth)
Who we are
(We’ve got nothing left to lose)
Who we are
(There’s still time enough to choose)
Who we are
Who we are
Who we are
  
Who we are
(I wanted something with meaning)
Who we are
(Yeah I wanted something to believe in)
Who we are
(Yeah, sure as I'm here breathing)
Who we are
(I wanted more)
Who we are
(Yeah, I wanted more)
Who we are
(Yeah, I wanted more than just a feeling)
Who we are
Who we are
(Yeah, for more than just a season)
Who we are
Who we are
(Yeah, we become what we believe in)
Who we are
 
Who we are
Who we are



Fading West EP

Switchfoot - Who We Are [ from the new album 'Fading West' ]

You're like a rebel on a wire
You're gonna fight them till your bleeding
Your like a voice through the sirens
They're gonna miss you when you leave them

And I thought I was a loner, a stoner
But nothing's gonna bring her back
And everyone says it's the radio radio

And we might have been together, forever
And now she's just a heart attack
And everyone says it's the radio radio

You're gonna hit them with your best shot
You're like, I hardly ever miss hun
You say you wanna start a fire
They're gonna miss you when it's all done

And I thought I was a loner, a stoner
But nothing's gonna bring her back
And everyone says it's the radio radio

And we might have been together, forever
And now she's just a heart attack
And everyone says it's the radio radio

And I'm never gonna give it away
Whatever they say whatever they say
no I'm never gonna give it away
I'm keeping it safe, keeping it safe for you

And I thought I was a loner, a stoner, a roller
And I thought I was a loner, a stoner, a roller
And we might have been together, forever
And now she's just a heart attack 
And everyone says it's the radio radio

And I thought I was a loner, a stoner
But nothing's gonna bring her back
And everyone says it's the radio radio




Royal

Radio

new single Elusive Youth

get for free from www.thisiselephant.com



www.thisiselephant.com

Elephant  - Elusive Youth

"5 songs to hear this week", Q MAGAZINE:
http://news.qthemusic.com/2014/02/five_songs_to_hear_this_week_-_42.html

"Song Of The Day", THE LINE OF BEST FIT:
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/song-of-the-day/listen-anto-dust-1955-145920

video premiere on CLASH magazine:
http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/premiere-anto-dust-1955

1955

Osoosooso - Safe

The Orwells' 'Let It Burn' | New Album | Disgraceland |Out June 2/3 
Pre-order and get this track now
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/disgraceland 
Bundles: http://smarturl.it/orwells


Disgraceland

Southern Comfort

Get this track

Taken from the ‘HAND PRINTS’ EP, Out now
Available on iTunes here: smarturl.it/aeahpitunessc

As Elephants Are follow last October’s release of the “Crystal” single (BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe ‘Next Hype’), with the brand new 4-track “Hand Prints” EP.

With past releases being described as everything from “sinister” (This Is Fake DIY), to “Life affirming” and “Magical” (the 405) to “Wonderfully dreamy” (Time Out London), EP title track ‘Hand Prints’ develops further the band’s ability to write nagging melodies wrapped in barbed wire rhythms. EP title track “Hand Prints” has already racked up over 25,000 plays on Soundcloud and plays on BBC Radio 1 from Huw Stephens and Jen & Ally as well as playlists on XFM and Amazing Radio. EP track “Went Wrong” has also given the band its first US radio play courtesy of KCRW.

On the live front, 2013 saw As Elephants Are play their debut slot at the Reading and Leeds Festival on the BBC Introducing Stage as well as appearing at Bushstock and Southsea Festival and supporting Half Moon Run. On 31st March 2014 the band completed their first headline UK Tour. The 10-date tour culminated in the band’s first proper London headline show at The Sebright Arms on 31st March. A Summer of festival appearances now beckons with the following shows already announced and more to follow:

3rd May	Canterbury, Sound City Project (w/Saint Raymond, Pixel Fix)
4th May	Stockton, Sunday Live (w/Wolf Alice, Circa Waves)
8th May	Brighton, The Prince Albert (w/New Desert Blues)
24th May	Barcelona, Spain, Razzmatazz
12th June	London, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, New Blood Festival (w/Young Kato)
13th June	London, Club NME @ Koko
20th June Camden Crawl @ Camden Eye, London
21st June	Lainfest
18th July	Bristol, Birdcage
19th July	TRUCK Festival
25th July   Secret Garden Party
25th July	REDFEST

As Elephants Are - Souls

'Moaning Lisa Smile' from Wolf Alice's 'Creature Songs' EP.

Available now on iTunes: http://po.st/CreatureSongs

My Love Is Cool

Moaning Lisa Smile

Download on iTunes

Out now. Download the 'Steamroller' EP from iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-ste…p-ep/id860053467

Tracklisting:
1. Steamroller
2. Next In Line
3. Simple Sunrise
4. Steamroller (Will Bloomfield Remix)

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PortIsla
Twitter - https://twitter.com/portisla
Tumblr - http://portisla.tumblr.com

Download the EP

Steamroller

She Knew Violence

Taken from the debut album 'Lacuna', out August 11th.

Pre-order - http://po.st/iTunesLacuna

Childhood - Falls Away

Our debut album "When It Was Now," is now available on iTunes- smarturl.it/atlas

Subscribe for more new music on YouTube- bit.ly/W8yTQS
iTunes - www.smarturl.it/atlas
Facebook- facebook.com/atlasgenius
Twitter- twitter.com/atlasgenius
Tour Dates- atlasgenius.com/tour

Lyrics to Trojans:
Take it off
Take it in
Take off all the thoughts of what we've been
Take a look
Hesitate
Take a picture you could never recreate
Write a song
make a note
for the lump that sits inside your throat
Change the locks, change the scene
Change it all but can't change what we've been

Your trojan's in my head

It's ok if it's gone
The thoughts that you had that it was the one
And oh what is left?
For all those times is that what you get?
Oh regardless
The walls get painted anyway
Oh you're guarding
The gates, but it all got away

Your trojan's in my head

Take it off
Take it in
Take off all the thoughts of what we've been
Take a look
Hesitate
Take a picture you could never recreate
Write a song
make a note
for the lump that sits inside your throat
Change the locks, change the scene
Change it all but can't change what we've been

About Atlas Genius-
The members of Adelaide, Australia’s Atlas Genius do things a little differently….They set about building a studio where they could write and record music for their newly formed band 3 years before they even played their first live show as Atlas Genius. For two years, they devoted their days to constructing their dream studio and spent their nights performing songs by The Police, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones at local pubs to pay the bills. “We really got down and dirty with dry walling and literally laying the floorboards, and at the same time we were taking a couple of days a week to focus on writing songs,” recalls Keith Jeffery, Atlas Genius’s vocalist/guitarist. "We had a lot of song ideas and it was important to us to have our own studio where we could experiment and hone in on our sound," adds brother and drummer, Michael Jeffery. The studio was designed and outfitted by the brothers with the help of their father (who comes from a music and engineering background). Once the studio was complete, the first song that Atlas Genius finished was a song called “Trojans,” which they wrote, recorded and produced in collaboration with their friend, keyboardist Darren Sell. After many weeks tweaking the song, Michael insisted that the song was ready to be heard outside of the studio walls. Within an hour, “Trojans” was on the Triple J Unearthed Website, SoundCloud, and for sale via TuneCore on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify worldwide.

“We had begun to think that music was a pipedream and we had all gone back to university to pursue more realistic careers,” says Keith. “We’d had such a long slog of playing late nights and working all day, and it felt like we didn’t really have anything to show for it.” But then, in the midst of cramming for their Fall 2011 semester final exams, Neon Gold discovered “Trojans” on the Triple J Unearthed Website and wrote a post praising “Trojans” as a song sure to “invade your head, all dressed up in a clever disguise of earnest vocals riding a hooky riff.” Checking the band’s email account for the first time in over a month, the band found that dozens of record labels, publishers, lawyers, booking agents and management companies from all over the world had contacted them.

“We were trying to focus on school, but it was just impossible,” recalls Keith. “So we said, ‘There’s something going on here. Let’s get back to the music.’” The band added manager, Jonny Kaps from +1, to their extended family to navigate all of the interest as the band focused on writing and recording more songs.

Quickly named an iTunes Single of the Week in Australia and New Zealand, “Trojans” reached #4 on Hype Machine by the end of May. In August, SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Alt-Nation discovered the song on a blog and decided to give it some spins. There was an immediate reaction from listeners, and in September, “Trojans” was placed into heavy rotation, where it maintained a top-five position on the listener-generated Alt-18 countdown and peaked at number one for 4 consecutive weeks in January 2012. “Trojans” began selling over a thousand tracks per week on U.S. iTunes and soon climbed to 45,000 sales - all with zero promotional efforts from the still-unsigned Atlas Genius.

“Knowing we had this audience that was waiting on new songs, we had a much greater sense of purpose than we had before,” says Keith. “It was really exciting to know that there were people who wanted to hear more of our music.” Although labels were clamoring for the band to come to the U.S. and play a series of showcase gigs, Atlas Genius turned down those offers in favor of staying in Adelaide to keep writing and recording new songs. In February 2012, after months of communicating with numerous labels via Skype, the band chose to travel to the US in order to make their label decision.

“We’d never been to America before,” says Keith. “We flew in at night and saw this sea of lights, and it really became apparent to us how massive the U.S. is. It was pretty intimidating - like ‘How do we fit into all this?’” In April 2012, the band returned to the states having made their decision to sign with Warner Bros. Records. “We felt a connection with them,” notes Keith. “Everyone there feels very creative and dedicated to the music.”

The band’s first release from their new label home, the EP Through The Glass (produced, engineered and mixed by the band), came out in June of 2012. With Through The Glass completed, Atlas Genius then holed up in its studio and worked on writing and recording its first full-length album, while at the same time rehearsing for their first ever tour. The tour started in August 2012 and led to three more tours back to back taking them thru to the end of the year. Thus, their full-length debut was finished up between tour dates and got completed just before Christmas 2012. When It Was Now is set for a US release on February 19th, 2013, with an international release to follow soon after.

The debut captures Atlas Genius’s singular combination of sophisticated musicality and warm, wistful spirit. Infused with a classic sensibility, each of the songs would fit seamlessly if somehow slipped into a long-treasured mixtape. On the shimmering “Symptoms,” for instance, taut keyboard riffs mesh with urgent acoustic strumming before the band bursts into a gently frenetic, guitar-drenched chorus. Meanwhile, “Back Seat” blends its pulsing bass throb with a sweetly infectious beat and tender vocals that alternately soar and sigh. And on “Trojans,” Atlas Genius begins with a restrained guitar melody and vocal (“Take it off, take it in/Take off all the thoughts of what we’ve been”) before giving way to the handclap-accented, harmony-soaked refrain and lush yet kinetic bridge.

“It’s still surreal,” says Keith of all that’s happened over the past 18 months. “I think when we were very young, we had hopes that something like this might happen one day,” he continues. (Thanks largely to encouragement from their Beatles fanatic parents, who encouraged the brothers to begin playing music by age 14.) “But then you grow up a bit and it seems less and less likely. So when we put ‘Trojans’ out, we figured it would be a success if maybe a hundred people heard it. We don’t want to force our music onto anyone. Our goal is to write songs that we love and we hope they connect with other people too.”

Trojans

Buy on iTunes

From the Melody's Echo Chamber Crystallized 7" 

Melody's Echo Chamber - Endless Shore

Haltija

WWJRD?

Recorded at Shepard Hall, Manhattan, New York City 
(http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/ci/centennial/uptown_shepard.cfm) 
and The Bunker, Brooklyn, NY from March-September 2012. 
Produced by Luke David and Jordan Topf. 
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Avatar Studios.

Wasted

Sky Swimming

Buy the debut album.

Elephant - Skyscraper

UK tour in February. Get Tickets: http://smarturl.it/theorwellslive
Get 'Other Voices' EP for free: http://theorwells.com/othervoices

Indie Bands (2)

Samuel Dexter