Dead Roots Stirring

The thing that got me looking into this band, cool label aside, was the name. "Elder" - it's strange that no one's taken this name before; it sounds really cool, simple one word name, and it could mean a million things, all of which are awesome. An A grade band name, definitely.

A grade music, though? Not really, but it's definitely a pretty good attempt at living up to the band name. Long jammy stoner stuff, chilled 70's vibes, hendrix-y leads, that sorta thing. Raw but nonetheless really good production; the best kind. A few riffs that get a bit visceral but it's pretty girlfriend metal-esque; nothing ever really crushes, the throaty-yet-melodic vocals (they're good, they're very good) seem like the singer's ultimate best attempt at as much vag as possible. It's not a bad attempt, for sure. Stuff's catchy and well composed; it flows and it's fun being swept along by the rocking, Sleep-y riffs, the constant guitar leads and the powerful (and excellently recorded) rhythm section.

The long jams here do work pretty well; the band's certainly enjoyable, and I think I'd be throwing my sweaty, slightly-poo-stained boxers at the singer where I to see them live. However, the monstrous title track and rather neat instrumental 'III' aside I'm generally left wanting a bit more. The guitar playing's good but never really gets your neck hurting, there's never any sort of slow pummel or slow, inner-space type exploration (III gets close and is maybe let down by the lack of a second guitar?), and likewise things never speed up enough to get out of groovy territory. Fair call- Elder aren't going for huge, earth shaking heaviness- but my tastes are what they are, and was I hoping for something meatier, at least in a few places. I enjoyed every song and it never dragged, but the only tune sticking with me after quite a few listens is III.

The name conjures up mystical, never climbed mountains and goku fighting superman over a planet sized glow in the dark rock, or something, but instead we've got some very well done but hardly-life-changing jams that are like Sleep but not as good. Nice try guys, but you're not Elder just yet.