Armed Elephant

THE ARMED ELEPHANT EP
1. To the Death
2. Brothers in Arms
3. Capture the Flag
4. Symington North
REVIEWS:
~~~ The Armed Elephant EP
By Jen Fiddes
"From the cover art, to the song titles, infused within every jam on Armed Elephant’s first EP, is a stark painting of the nature of society and government in America today. Overtop of a swirling blend of pounding rhythms and guitar and bass melodies, singers Yungwirth and Philthisjam float lyrics that expound the apathy of the world. The driving drum beats of Brett Schatz add to the immediacy of their message.
On the front you might want to write Armed Elephant off as some sort of Dave Matthews Band, but this could not be farther from the truth. I have not heard many as willing to talk about the subjects covered on their debut EP.
“To the Death”, the album opener, calls out the worker bee mentality of many. Backed by beautifully clear acoustic riffs and aforementioned tight rhythm section, the track blazes through lyrics properly summed up by the hook line “it’s alright, we’re all gonna die soon”.
Onward we go into “Brothers in Arms”, filled with quick strumming and more brilliant interplay between drums, bass, and rhythm guitar.
After such a blazing track, the EP takes a slightly darker turn on “Capture the Flag”, beginning with a brooding bass riff and measured drum track that builds into my favorite chorus on the EP. “‘Capture the Flag. Control!’ says the King. / Ruling class lives to control everything”. Yes, “the government is lying to you”. If you don’t believe me, let the blistering jam at the end of “Capture the Flag” convince you.
For a conclusion, there’s the excellent “Symington North”. Here we have a perfect track for a stomp through the city on a bold winter’s night. The infectious chorus and intertwining guitar bass melodies make this a fitting ending to an EP chock full of blinding acoustic rock goodness. After a haunting bridge, the band explodes into a raging interlude before breaking into a wonderfully integrated interlude of call and response vocals backed by swiftly strummed guitar and crunching drum and bass. In the end, Armed Elephant has lined up, taken shape, and given us what they got on this EP, and it makes me want to start a revolution. "~~~
ARMED ELEPHANT - "...funky acoustic rockers who draw on a diverse array of musical influences -- both melodic and heavy, orchestrated and raw."
-The Rez Ball
Our first review:
"I enjoyed seeing Armed Elephant. Although the sound system at the Recher was not the best (at least to hear vocals/words), I heard enough to say that they are talented, especially when you consider they perform all original material. That's a very courageous stance to take, as almost all audiences want to hear is cover material they're already familiar with."
(From Tom Layesman - Maryland Musician and Music Monthly.)