What If Elephants
Montréal, Quebec, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
"This Montreal band has an insta-catchy, harmonious, upbeat, big pop sound that is more than radio-ready. You can already picture a field of fans at a summer music festival waving their arms and singing along to this one. Think Imagine Dragons, Mounties and Hollerado for a like-minded sound." - Grant Lawrence, CBC Radio 3 - CBC Music
"The entire ensemble is a beam of light emitted from an array of “candles” that evoke only the most positive of dispositions. For real. Frontman, Joey Langlois’ smile could light up a room, and that’s exactly what happened. Everyone moved forward; the dancefloor was filled. People swayed, bobbed, felt the music, felt like it was fun, and it totally, totally was.
The entire performance was riveting. The stage was decorated with instruments: a cello and a mandolin lay dormant, waiting for their respective turns. Drummer, Justin Wiley, has serious rhythm which, when complemented by Eric Létourneau’s bass jams, creates a serious groove. But here’s the thing; What if Elephants is fun and has more substance that the fluff we may affiliate with positivity and lightness." - D. Niko Holmes - Bucketlist Music Reviews
"What If Elephants were kind of like an Imagine Dragons–Walk The Moon hybrid that you could easily imagine making it on the radio. This is both a blessing and a curse for the young band. On the one hand, they clearly have songwriting chops; on the other, their mainstream accessibility sometimes gets the better of them. For every catchy and arguably bland dance-pop tune, they displayed an atmospheric, moody side that I wish they would explore further. Their opening moments were spine tingling and a masterclass in suspense. I can only hope that they are concentrating on pushing this side of themselves a little bit more. Sure, it might not make them a lot of money, but they will have fans, like me, for life." - Shawn Thicke - Bucketlist Music Reviews
Discography
2015 - Getaway (EP)
2014 - Candles (single)
2017 - Edge (single)
2017 - Elastic Band (single)
Photos
Bio
Some bands aren’t afraid to address the elephant in the room. For Montreal quartet What If Elephants, it’s fundamental.
Coming together in 2014 through an end-of-year graduation party and an audition in disguise, the band has striven to strike a delicate balance with their elegant and rousing indie pop-rock sound with deeper, introspective lyrics that lie just below the surface. The creation of their first true collaborative effort Candles, described by Grant Lawrence as “insta-catchy, harmonious, upbeat, big pop sound that is more than radio-ready” lead their melodious and poised debut EP, 2015’s Getaway, to give listeners the option to move to its rhythmic pulse, or listen more closely to the message and reflect upon singer Joey Langlois’ heartfelt, relatable words.
“In life, we experience so many challenges and the only thing we can control is ourselves,” explains Langlois. “The lyrical focus is on ‘what can I do to deal with my situation?’ It’s a positive perspective on personal growth in the adversities we all face.”
The reason why Langlois and his bandmates – Alanna Martin, Justin Wiley, and Eric Létourneau – do what they do is also where their diverse musical backgrounds intersect: To experience the impact music can have on people. Says Wiley: “There’s something magical about music. Regardless of what language you speak or culture you come from, music is universal. It can inspire, bring comfort, joy and memories lost to time, and to be able to see this effect on people while listening to music is what inspires us most to continue performing and creating art.”
Their first single, Candles, was added to regular rotation on CBC Radio 3 after reaching top ten in the Montreal region of CBC Searchlight 2015, which they also achieved in 2016 with fan favourite “Iris” and in 2017 with their pop bopper “Elastic Band”. Candles and Getaway from their debut EP were synced with Parcs Canada ads. Their 2017 release, Edge, premiering Alanna on lead vocals, was placed in a promotion for Destinations Canada, further capitalizing on their Canadian sound.
There’s an album in development, and they’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with legendary recording engineer and inventor George Massenburg (Earth, Wind & Fire, Billy Joel) and producer Tokyo Speirs (Walk Off The Earth) to continue maturing their sound. From this, their 2017 summer single, Elastic Band, recently landed the group as finalists in RBC’s “Canada Walk of Fame 2018”, which earned them a day of mentoring with top industry pros, and a performance at the Emerging Musicians Showcase in Toronto.
What If Elephants has already drawn in the attention of festival audiences at Montreal’s Formula 1 Festival, as three time guests at McGill University’s largest campus party, Open Air Pub, as well as Oshawa’s Concerts in the Park. 2018 saw them fill the iconic Montreal venue, Casa Del Popolo, alongside Lindsay, Ontario’s The Kents and their 2018 Spring Tour shared performances with Flara K and To The Trees, finishing with their Canadian Music Week Showcase alongside Zach Oliver at The Supermarket in Toronto.
Most recently, WIE performed at the POP Montreal music festival along with internationally emerging groups Saint Sister, and Shotty Horroh, in collaboration with Greenland Production and Evenko. This November, Toronto saw them play Rivoli with emerging Canadian bands, MONOWHALES and The Royal Foundry and share the stage with Birds of Bellwoods at The Great Hall. Commenting on their first single; “You can already picture a field of fans at a summer music festival waving their arms and singing along to this one” - Grant Lawrence
Band Members
Links
