Album Review: Elephant Room

FYVEYES, a young Hawkes Bay trio were formed by Harry Champion (guitar, lead vocals) with Harry Young (bass) and Harper Champion (drums) to play some gigs which had already been booked by Harry C prior to his previous band breaking up. The Champion brothers had already been in a band together called Elephant Room and loved the idea of picking out an elephant in the room when you are in a room full of elephants, so this time around they used it as an album title. When I said the band were young, at the time of recording only Harry C had a full-time job and the other two were still in high school! This meant it took a year to actually record the album, but it was finally released in November last year and I am somewhat surprised it has not garnered more attention.

The band may be young, but it is obvious they have been studying their craft, as from the sound one would believe they have been honing their skills for some time, not still at school. The obvious point of reference is Queens of the Stone Age, yet they do not stick definitively within that stoner vibe, but add other elements to it as well, to create something which is both incredibly heavy and intensely commercial. Get By was released as a single, and one can understand why as it is incredibly catchy, with unaccompanied vocals at times, loads of space within the music and even some syncopation. There is a lot going on in the 4 ½ minutes, and one can easily imagine Josh Homme and Dave Grohl grinning all the way through this. I did read an interview where Harry C was asked what local songs he thought would fit next to this on a playlist, to which has answered Skinny Hobos Jacked Like The Ripper, Dead Favours On Your Own and Achilles Complex Shut It, and one can hear why they feel like Skinny Hobos in particular would be a great fit as there is a very similar vibe.

They have a knack of building songs around raw riffs, with the bass coming in and out  to provide additional effects, and always with plenty of space in the music so that songs like Wasted have a slight touch of psychedelia about them, as if the guys have been listening to the likes of Blue Cheer as well as mixing a little doom into the commercial stoner groove. Manhattan starts life as a full-on trip, and then the guys shake themselves out of it and suddenly we are on for a fast ride with the concentration on Harry’s vocals and guitar. Here is an album from three guys who are mature way beyond their years and are definitely a band to keep an eye on. Nice to see this album is available on CD as well as digital, as many bands these days seem to concentrate just on the digital route, but there are plenty of us who still like the physical product.