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Elefant
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The Black Magic Show
Hollywood Records
Release: 4/18/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
Jonathan Shipley
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Diego Garcia and his Elefant band mates have gotten it right
with their sophomore effort, The Black Magic
Show. Their debut release, Sunlight Makes Me
Paranoid, was released in 2003 and played homage to
the Cure and other 80s new wave greats. Their new album
makes strides away from simply the copied and inspired-by
fare of their first album (which was a fine effort and was well
received by critics across the board, nevertheless). The
Black Magic Show is a creation of their own. Certainly
Garcia and the gang are still fascinated by 80s indie rock (like
Morrissey, and, again, the album has Cure tinges), but they're
developing their own sound, much like other new wave inspired
acts have in the recent past, paying homage and yet cutting
their own cloth, including groups like Franz Ferdinand, The
Killers, and Bloc Party.
The reason for the band's development? Diego Garcia is oodles
more sure of himself at the microphone, the lyrics are more
thoughtful and culturally significant ("Lolita," of course, is based
on the Nabakov book of the same title) and the band behind
him have gotten tighter and tighter the three years since their
first release. The hiatus away from the studio (they've been
heavily touring since their first album) has done them well.
With bassist Jeff Berrall, guitarist Mod, and drummer Kevin
McAdams, the Gotham foursome have created an eclectic
album that's more accessible to the masses and should garner
them much-do notice. Garcia, an Argentinean with Motown
roots, weaves his moody Bowie-esque voice amongst the
musicians to create ambitious driving tunes, from the dance
happy "Uh Oh Hello" (pure 80s music yet with today's
sensibilities), to the cabaret of "Sirens," to the weaving musical
tapestry of "Why," a musical stretch that doesn't quite reach it's
zenith as the band probably had hoped for. So why push the
envelope at all, in regards to their sound? Because they can.
They're talented enough and if they record a few clinkers and
put them on the album at least they're trying to expand
themselves, both musically and technically, and one must give
them at least credit for that. |
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