Elephantine

Somewhere in the spectrum of experimental indie-rock, there lies Elephantine: a style-blending, genre-bending outfit from Central Pennsylvania that is driven, determined, and destined to create music which pushes the envelope. During the indefinite hiatus of the alt-indie act, Marathon, chief songwriter Zach Wagner (guitar, vocals) spent a year focusing on production and recording demos in his makeshift bedroom studio. With renewed focus and positive reaction to his demos, Zach decided to develop his solitary project into a full-scale band, adding members Erich Wagner (guitar, vocals), Matt Woodruff (bass), Nicholas Buffington (keyboard, guitar, backing vocals), and Travis Shirk (drums).

Clearly well-steeped in a myriad of influences, Elephantine’s sound pulls from such paramount artists as The Dear Hunter, Circa Survive, and even The Shepherd’s Dog-era Iron & Wine, but is also reminiscent of more obscure acts such as Surrogate, Kaddisfly, Idiot Pilot, and Paulson.

Listening to Elephantine is an invitation to inhabit an intricate landscape. Rather than polluting the open air with noise, they create an open space meant to be explored. It feels on one hand infinite and wandering, while at the same time familiar and resonant—like discovering the home you’d always lived in had another floor you never knew existed.

Technically proficient, Elephantine boasts stellar guitar work both in layering and in lead, with drumming that is both unintrusive and interesting—even unorthodox at times. Dual vocalists Zach and Erich Wagner strike a unique balance between a warm, whisper-like voice and a yearning, more tonal singing that often soars achingly over the landscape below—a landscape which is multileveled with effects and programming, yet neither cluttered nor distracting. Elephantine develops a vastness of sound without pretension and with unparalleled maturity for such a young band.

Atmospheric and ambient, yet poignant and raw at just the right moments, Elephantine blindfolds you with their music, causing you to feel lost, yet all the while they know exactly where they are taking you and how you should feel when you get there. - Jacob Feld