2018 has been the year of rock n’ roll revivalism, and no one has been taking charge of the movement to bring chest-pumping rhythm back to the forefront of pop music than Elsewhere. Elsewhere are a band based out of New England and originally started back in the 90’s, but their sound is about as far from grunge and proto-alternative rock as Boston is from Seattle. Their latest EP, Multi-Man, is out this August 31st everywhere than independent music can be streamed or purchased, and to say that their fans have been eagerly anticipating its arrival might be the understatement of the year. I braced myself to be slightly disappointed by Multi-Man in light of the massive hype surrounding its release, but to my delight I found that I didn’t need to; Elsewhere seriously delivers the goods on this one.
URL: http://www.elsewhere-band.com/
Let’s start off with the eponymous first track, a frenzy of guitar and bass warring with percussion that could trigger an avalanche if performed at a snowy high altitude venue. A lot of rock bands have, unfortunately, moved away from colorful leads and intricately arranged song structures in favor of the straightforwardness of a four chord punk approach. Even though Elsewhere is heavily influenced by punk, more specifically new wave, they take just as much from progressive rock ala Pink Floyd, and their preservation of concerto style arrangements is a worthy nod to their art/prog forerunners. Every song requires its own unique set of blueprints and method of execution, and instead of this approach makingMulti-Man sound scattered, it sounds eclectically surreal and evenly mixed.
Elsewhere doesn’t sound like a band trying to fit in with the younger crowd in Multi-Man, but instead like a group of seasoned, experienced craftsman doing what they do best; sharing their craft with us. This current generation of music fans has a far more advanced appetite for intellectually stimulating audio than their parents did, and stuff like “We’re Not Gonna Take It” or “Welcome to the Jungle” just doesn’t cut it anymore. They want to be moved, emotionally affected by the physicality of the music they listen to. They want something old world yet liberal in its philosophy. In short, they want Elsewhere, or more explicitly, the Multi-Man era of Elsewhere.
Music enthusiasts of all ages and ranges of taste will find Elsewhere to be the sophisticated rock band that they’ve marketed themselves to be when listening to Multi-Man, but one thing that they definitely won’t be able to find is any overbearing commercial interest in their music tying it just this period in history over any other. Elsewhere passed up the chance to sell out a long time ago, and they haven’t looked back since. Anyone who questions whether or not this band is legit and solidly committed to remaining stewards of their scene and their sound for the duration of their active lives would do well to listen to this EP and see just how embarrassingly wrong they really are. For those of us who already knew the truth, this is just a little extra proof to end the summer with.
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/1H9rZQG5hMGHXwksxEyXKp
Kim Muncie
[…] have covered Elsewhere’s The Pledge as well as their Multi-Man EP […]