Elefant

These days, the amount of attention given to a new band seems to increase exponentially if the band in question hails from New York City. That means that Elefant has a greater chance of capturing a few moments in the spotlight. While they might currently make New York their home, the main man Diego Garcia (who was previously in Circus) made it to that city via both Detroit and Argentina, but that perhaps helps to provide the band a unique perspective. Elefant do have an element of the ubiquitous "New York sound” in some of their songs, with moments that are very reminiscent of the Strokes ("Misfit”) and Interpol ("Bokkie” and the title track), but the band do keep a more underlying commercial influence that makes the music more immediately accessible. The ten songs clock in at a very succinct 32 minutes, leaving little time for any song to overstay its welcome, yet it also means that Elefant don’t develop their ideas to any great extent either. So don’t expect anything more challenging than some straight-forward guitar rock that doesn’t conceal hidden depths below the surface. Not necessarily a bad thing.