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Elephant

Indie / Netherlands (Rotterdam)
Elephant
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Elephant

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Local Natives, Wilco, Andy Shauf

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Sugar sweet indie

" Glittering summer indie that’s a breath of fresh air "

Their new album might be called ‘Shooting For The Moon’, but the music of Elephant – a four-piece indie band from Rotterdam – is clearly inspired by that other heavenly body, the sun. “Carefree and unbothered” they say, as well as “easy-going”. All very accurate, for their tunes shimmer with a golden glow and a gentle, laid-back vibe. Picture a late summer afternoon, somewhere by a river; hazy sunbeams dance through the leaves. Someone’s brought beers, others are swimming. This is most definitely playing on someone’s portable speaker.

And such feelings of liberation are easy to understand. The group’s debut, 2022’s ‘Big Thing’, was written and recorded during the pandemic, when we were collectively gripped by fear and uncertainty. But ‘Shooting For The Moon’? It sounds like renewed optimism. It sounds like freedom. “The sunshine falls upon my face / It’s been so long that I felt anything so real as I feel right now”, sings frontman Frank Schalkwijk on ‘Enemy’, making this sentiment crystal clear. And, well, we could all use a little positivity right now, a little escapism, right?

Sugar sweet indie rarely sounded as good. But there are other influences here too; a touch of folk, some dusty Americana, and hints of numerous greats from the noughties like Mac DeMarco, Local Natives, and Real Estate. Ah, those were the days! But maybe we don’t need to look back anymore. Maybe we can look forward again, with Elephant as our guide. Dive right in and see for yourself.