REVIEWED: Elk Lodge – "What if I told you there were two Henrys in the room?"
Elk
Lodge is a fun bass n’ drums garage duo. Imagine The Inbreds doing
gritty little punk jams. I really like a two piece band. I like the
creativity that often comes out of limited resources. I like the idea of
making due with what you have and proving that all of the extra shit is
unnecessary if the songs are good and the energy is there.
The
album opens with the sound of someone operating a cloths dryer, which
becomes a cute recurring gimmick throughout – from being cleverly
inserted into “More Movement Than Man” to the buzz signaling the end of
the cycle and of the album. I suspect that it may be meant as a nod to
their having recorded the album in their apartment as well as an effort
to tie the album together.
Another
running theme is the name Henry. I feel like there is an inside joke
here, and I wish the band would let its audience in on it. Otherwise, it
gives the album a sort of self-indulgent vibe. For instance, “Two
Henrys” is just atmospheric bass noises and playing with a delay pedal.
Between the dryer shtick and the Henry shtick, it feels like Elk Lodge
are reaching for content. Rather than try and cobble together a full
album, the band may have done better to pare this down to a five song
EP.
But…
But…
A cardinal musical sin, in my book, is to be boring and this is not a boring record.
Elk
Lodge have succeeded in making me want to hear more. I would like to
see the band spend some time writing and put together a serious follow
up with more cool, rocking, melodic songs like “Hard Party”.
The boys are onto something.
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Written by Mike Hiltz
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