GARDEN OF ELKS

For those who are fussy about the quality of the noise they listen to, "thrash pop" trio Garden Of Elks come with a decent pedigree: singer/guitarist Niall Strachan can otherwise be found howling with Bronto Skylift, while bassist Ryan Drever and drummer Paul Bannon keep themselves busy with, respectively, PAWS and Lady North. Don't dismiss Garden Of Elks as an afterthought to the day jobs, though: A Distorted Sigh might well edge ahead all of their other outfits' releases. There are a lot of influences floating on the surface of their music - heavy psychedelia (This Morning We Are Astronauts), indie pop jangle (Contented Contender), 1990s grunge (Smile), American hardcore (Wing) - but beneath them all is a post-punk virtuosity that keeps everything restlessly exciting. Even as Strachan puts the metal to the pedals for all sorts of guitar effects, the rhythm section powers forward, Drever's bass travelling like a theme-park rollercoaster, Bannon's drums thunderously solid. They're bloody marvellous live too. - Herald Scotland

‘Thrash-pop,’ they call it, although Scotland’s Garden Of Elks favour something a little more subtle than Kerry King-style shredding. Drawing from the so-called ‘alternative' rock of the 90s, pacy numbers like Mountain Dew emit vague aromas of Sonic Youth and Slowdive, albeit with a pleasing tendency to riff on a somewhat grungier level. Niall Strachan flits between a careworn drawl and impassioned yelps, while guitars jangle esoterically before surging towards the stratosphere; catharsis on top of catharsis, only much more fun than that looks on paper.

There’s a vague hint of Wire’s catchy dissonance to the excellent Wings, particularly in bassist Ryan Drever (he of the PAWS parish)’s jerking contributions – by the time Tomorrow’s juddering atmospherics roll around, it dawns on us just how much action is packed into these 28 minutes. Garden Of Elks are not the heaviest of rockers, nor (on this record, at least) the noisiest. Instead, they offer ideas and hooks in abundance: admirable traits indeed. - The Skinny

I’ve written about them before and it was another performance that makes you wonder whether gonzo lo-fi is a genre yet? The song “This Morning We Are Astronauts” is still my favourite. The band tread a fine line between youthful exuberance and loose laces you could trip over, which is probably how The Ramones sounded in their early days. That feeling that it could all collapse at any second makes for compelling viewing. It’s certainly not boring. - Pet Piranha

What strikes the most at first listen to A Distorted Sigh is the obscurity and the complexity of Garden Of Elks; opener ‘This Morning We Are Astronauts’ is dragged around by a voluminous bass riff that involuntarily defines the band’s album pace.

This impressive dynamic provokes a physical reaction from the listener; imagine finishing a marathon with a sprint on top of a mountain only able to hear the sound of your raging heart beating in your temples as it tries to jump out of your ribcage, while painfully trying to catch your breath on the ground exhausted.

Well the album’s rhythm feels exactly like that sensation, almost causing nausea and dizziness simply by listening to it, but this musical illness is more than addictive; the band is not just about being deafening, the melodies linger in your eardrums, where they lay bare like open wounds.

Tracks like ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Smile’ expose a full on post-punk “garagesque” palette reminiscing of Sonic Youth and their cheap guitars always remembered for their most unreachable and explosive riffs.

The unparalleled lyrics almost whispered at times, picture a distorted dystopia (“I’m not a shadow / I bleed from natural causes”) that includes the society that we are all living in.

Tracks like ‘Wing’ screams about the difficulties of simply being in the everyday life, “I can’t breathe anymore / nothing to do today, nothing to prove”.

Garden of Elks debut album is raw and unpredictable; it is built on the ashes of a genre that we all thought was dead and buried in the backyard of the late 90’s.

Maybe the overall sound does not differ much throughout, but the energy is very much present and the haunting and powerful vocals deliver an impressive message that we should all take a minute to listen to. - Ravechild

Edinburgh record label Song, By Toad is set to release the debut album of Inverness three-piece ‘Garden Of Elks‘. In the meantime they are releasing their first single SWAP. It’s boisterous, energetic, awesome guitar music with a bit of an American edge. They call it thrash-pop, which is a daft term, but is actually pretty descriptive.
There is also a video for SWAP which shows bunch of school kids going absolutely apeshit and dancing along to the song. Matthew from Song, By Toad says “I never thought I’d use the term adorable to describe anything connected with a band whose shows frequently end with crowd-surfing, blood and flying guitars, but well, it really is adorable.”
Not exactly short of work ethic, Niall (member of Garden Of Elks) has already written about fifty Elks songs apparently, and they are already at work recording album number two, seeking out American labels and bookers, putting their own tour together in the UK and all sorts of other stuff. - - 7ahead

Lo-fi Scottish supergroup Garden of Elks features members of Bronto Skylift, PAWS and Lady North, but there’s every chance that they could surpass the lot in time. Set off by singer Niall Strachan’s reverberating, recorded-in-a-coalshed (not literally, but it sounds great) vocal, they fuse a ferocious energy with a controlled ability for writing sharp pop choruses. When it works to its best effect, it’s compelling listening – in particular, the hypnotic indie beat of ‘Contended Contender’ and anthem-in-waiting ‘I Hid Inside’ are great songs. - The List

Say what you like about the often whimsical and fickle notion of a ‘scene’ and its accompanying ‘scenesters’ (in the case, the current slew of DIY guitar bands that are currently hitting up Glasgow’s punk influenced network): it can result in more fruitful and collaborative results between artists with otherwise tribal mentalities. It’s easy to banish any elitist cynicism after witnessing the grandiose efforts of power trio Garden Of Elks, who are comprised of Niall Strachan from heavyweight duo Bronto Skylift, Ryan Drever from hardcore mentalists No Island and drummer Kirstin Lynn - who plays the role of an overzealous and disapproving mother as she sits behind her perch, keeping the excitable boys in check.

Their recent single, ‘This Morning We Are Astronauts’, has proved a hit on the blogosphere and tonight it’s not hard to grasp why. Wiry bass player Drever leaps daintily across the stage like the most surreal Gerald Scarfe animation imaginable, while Lynn has all the erratic and unpredictable chops of the Minutemen’s George Hurley to accompany her snarling backing vocals. While frontman Strachan brings a lot of his trademark Bronto flavour to the set with his abrasive freak-out guitar moments, which are plentiful throughout, the songs are largely bass-driven providing a Pixies-esque backdrop that allows the arrangements enough space to sneak some lo-fi chaos in edgeways. 'We thank you for existing in this timeframe with us,' quips Strachan in a subdued, deadpan delivery - which is then completely polarised by a 30-minute barrage of post-apocalyptic-power-punk. More please. - The List

GARDEN OF ELKS

Garden Of Elks like to smother you in loud, fuzzy, guitar pop.
They produced a string of sold out tapes over the past 2 years and released their first album "A Distorted Sigh' through Song by Toad Records in the UK in April to critical acclaim.
GOE kill it live
GOE are Scottish

Where are you traveling from and how did you get here?
Travelling from the Highlands of Scotland and a big plane will take us and our equipment across the Atlantic Ocean. We are not strong swimmers and we get sea sick so this is the best method.

Favorite road trip song?
Has to be 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift. On repeat.

What's your favorite college radio station?
We don't really have college radio in Scotland. Usually i just listen to the animals grazing in the fields.Sometimes. Failing that BBC 6Music is a cool station!
I do listen to KEXP online and they have been rad enough to play us a few times :)

What are your survival tips for the week?
1. Charm people to feed and water you

2. Go and see Garden Of Elks

3. Buy Tees from Garden Of Elks

Tip 1 works really well if you are from Scotland

What, aside from playing shows, is on your NYC must-do list? (food, shops, culture, etc.)
MoMA, 9/11 Memorial, Grand Central, Chelsea Market, Natural History Museum, lots and lots and lots of Pizza. Would love to see DIIV play if they are doing anything. Oh and finding a good guitar store as our guitars tend to take a huge amount of abuse!

What's a common a festival faux pas to avoid?
Avoid being the guy or girl who gets so loaded that you end up - A) Pissing yourself B) Shitting yourself C) Spewing on yourself (or a friend)

Any one of these is bad enough but all 3 at once is pretty spectacular.
I have witnessed this at a music festival in Scotland.
No, it was not me. - CMJ