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Post POP MUSIC
Elefant and Ambulance Ltd.
Elefant and Ambulance Ltd., who shared the stage Monday night at the Black Cat, seemed in advance to be an exceptionally compatible double bill. Both bands, after all, are New York outfits that draw inventively on arty and punky '60s and '70s rock. In practice, however, the two groups failed to achieve equilibrium -- not because of their music but because Ambulance Ltd. arrived too late to perform a full set.
The headlining Elefant is a quartet whose three instruments -- not counting Diego Garcia's voice -- achieve a remarkably full sound. Garcia's theatrical vocals, which echo the delivery of various glitter and goth icons, were at the center of the band's style, but Mod's versatile guitar was no less remarkable. Supplemented by various electronic effects, the guitar was visceral yet elegant, and capable of being either scrappy or epic. Yet it never overwhelmed such songs as "Bokkie" and "Make Up," in which Garcia celebrated giddy infatuation as if he'd just invented it.
Hitting the stage before Elefant -- and almost an hour late -- Ambulance Ltd. played only five songs and less than 25 minutes. Much like the evening's other act, the quintet is capable of quick, graceful shifts between chiming and churning passages. Songs such as "Stay Where You Are" had a hint of pre-rock melodic traditions, yet incorporated the modal surge of such forebears as the Velvet Underground and the Feelies. The locomotion had barely begun, however, when the band had to apply the brakes.
-- Mark Jenkins
