Elephant Stone is a psych band with a sitar, but their appreciation for the traditional Indian instrument reaches beyond novelty. It's a frequently tapped, prominent fixture in their catalogue. So even when frontman Rishi Dhir wasn't playing it here, guitarist Gabriel Lambert anchored the band's sound to its far-out drones, expertly pairing the jangle of a vintage 12-string with a bank of pedals for a second, synthetic raga vehicle. But when Rishi Dhir swapped off his bass to pick up his calling card three songs in, the band's hypnotic, transportive experience really opened up, virtuosity given free reign, paisley rock songs extended into longer, more intricately winding passages, time becoming a murky, mysterious thing as volume shot through, deep, eddying pools of psychedelia.
Elephant Stone
Festival de Musique Émergente, Rouyn-Noranda QC, September 1
BY Tom BeedhamPublished Sep 2, 2017
