Elephant Revival has recently released their new album Sands of Now. The Colorado folk group, who made their debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre last summer, plays a mix of Americana, Folk, Celtic and Gypsy music. The group has earned worldwide praise; NPR lauds their “intuitive rhythms” and “tight, haunting vocals.” Elephant Revival consists of Bonnie Paine on vocals, washboard, djembe, stomp box, and musical saw; Bridget Law on fiddle and vocals; and Sage Cook on electric banjo and vocals. The album is a superb musical project. Its themes are quiet and understated. The overall feel of the album is haunting, especially the vocals.
Sands of Now opens with the driving Celtic track, “Shadow Past”. The vocals are quiet and haunting; Bonnie Paine has a very unique voice. The fiddle part is both beautiful and intriguing, and the instrument is also front and center on the title track, which features a more Americana sound. In fact, the fiddle tells more of the story than the vocals/lyrics. Sage Cook takes lead vocals on this one. “Drop” is a live recording in which you can hear the audience in the background. The audio quality is excellent for a live recording. The track has a cool rhythm to it, and a bluesy/folk sound, with Bonnie taking lead vocals again. Bridget Law’s fiddle is superb, it really gives the song a soul.
Both “Fallout Fields” and “The Garden” feature guitars and the fiddle, and a more Americana/Celtic sound. On “The Garden”, the guitar gives a driving rhythm to the track, which has a biblical feel lyrically. “Will Carry On” is a quieter, softer track, reminiscent of a babbling brook. “Spinning” is the most celtic sounding track on the album and is just stellar, while “Stolen” is the most Gypsy sounding track, the djembe front and center on the song.
“Lost Creek” features a faster rhythm along with rapid vocals. The lyrics are intriguing, “Tell me a tale of untangled motion/ I’m losing your love/ Untamed devotion/ Call me a child, but I need the notion/ Even the Lost Creek will reach.” “Cosmic Pulse” has a beat much like a pulse, along with a haunting fiddle. This track features the clearest vocals out of the whole album. “Cosmic Pulse” and “Sing to the Mountain” both have very clear vocals, unlike the rest of the album. Another live recording on this record is “Echo Rose”, which features vocals reminiscent of whale calls. It’s an interesting track all the way around.
The album concludes with the celtic/folk “Sing to the Mountain”. The fiddle is just absolutely amazing, perfect in every way. As I said before, the vocals on this song are very clear, which I actually prefer. It’s more enjoyable when you can clearly hear the lyrics, especially for those of us who have hearing problems. That doesn’t mean I’m saying anything against the vocal delivery on this record, the vocals are excellent, very haunting and unique. I just happen to prefer the clearer vocal deliveries more. This album is extremely artistic, original, unique, and intriguing. You find yourself needing a few more listens in order to take the whole record in fully.
I would recommend this album to anyone looking for great Americana/Folk/ Celtic music. I personally love the gypsy sounds featured on the album, it’s different and something you don’t usually hear.
Originally posted here.
