Japonize Elephants
La Fete Du Cloune-Pirate
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Japonize Elephants
La Fete Du Cloune-Pirate
Secretly Canadian, 1998
RiYL: Frank Zappa, Appalachia folk |
In four years, the nine-piece band has virtually rewritten the term "eclectic" in creating music at once progressive but rooted in age-old styles such as Appalachian country/folk, exotic Middle Eastern swing and good old-fashioned hoedown craziness. Insane, alcohol-soaked live shows and a preoccupation with bacon have made the band's gigs absolute must-sees.
Le Fete Du Cloune-Pirate advances the jolly concepts found on the band's Bob's Bacon Barn debut, benefiting from an improved recording and a bit more attention to bothersome guidelines such as song structure. Lyrics and song titles (personal favorites: "Dirty Old Lady" and "Firefighters In Yer Briars") go a long way in conveying the band's heavily drunken vibe, but it's the musicianship that keeps this record consistently engaging.
To wit, "Toulaiganou" is the Elephants' most structurally sound song in a long while, a very pretty number driven by a sax solo(!), Megan Weeder's violin and a bass line by Evan Farrell that just won't sit still. But minutes later, the tale of "B.E.V. The Magic Robot" returns to the laugh-out-loud tendencies of Bob's Bacon Barn.
Le Fete Du Cloune-Pirate, out on mighty fine Bloomington label Secretly Canadian, is an off-kilter gem from a group that knows how to have fun. The next six-pack is on me.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"