Originally posted by mark e smith:
Markie likes the national a lot. They were great supporting the Penis Brothers in NY.
The National and Elefant seem like an odd bill...
Elefant:
Elefant frontman Diego Garcia must have memorized nearly every song by the Cure while he was growing up, because his band's debut album, Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, is a shameless, abstract pop mix, a solid indie pop record heavy in new wave aesthetics. Tripping Two-Tone percussion swirls around glossy synth beats, and Garcia's Morrissey-like dark vocal softness fits his passionate, undying lyrical wishes for that perfect love. One listen to the shimmery synth waves of "Tonight Let's Dance" will reel you into Garcia's storybook imagination, which is both poetically sweet and wild. Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid isn't defenseless with its innocence either, for Mod's feverish guitar work is a great fit to Garcia's lyrical daydreams, particularly on the honeyed punk number "Make Up." A more sullen mood whirls on "Now That I Miss Her," while the title track shimmies with electronic bits for Elefant's most dramatic moment yet. Garcia's near goth-like monotone vocals are a cool move for "Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid" and its underlying melancholy; however, a lush chorus quickly shatters the humdrum. Elefant has carefully crafted an album that's not derivative of the group's garage rock counterparts. Such a task is a difficult one, but Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid brilliantly pulls it off without being overly stylish. â?? MacKenzie Wilson
The National (opening for Elefant)
This Ohio-based band strikes a lush, adorable balance between the country-pop of bands such as Jayhawks and Golden Smog and the gloomy, depressing crooning of Tom Waits. Lead singer Matt Berninger manages to transcend leveling the fine background with some reflection and introspection on "Cold Girl Fever" and "Watching You Well." The country hues touched on in "American Mary" are only surpassed by the album's perfect song "Theory of the Crows," a morbid waltz through loneliness and loss. Throughout it all, the band manages not only to exceed their pigeonholed genres but gives a fresh perspective with brilliantly crafted numbers. Starting up where Wilco left off with their Summerteeth album, the group delivers a generous heaping of Americana and alt-country. Brilliant. â?? Jason MacNeil
