Lucky Elephant - The Rainy Kingdom (Sunday Best Records)
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| Lucky Elephant - The Rainy Kingdom |
It is a repetitively hypnotic
bassline that introduces this album from London AngloFrancs Lucky Elephant.
'Old Kent Road' has a charming, Elbow-esque quality to it which eases the
listener in to the album beautifully like a comfy sofa on a bitter autumnal
evening. Things get a whole lot less comfortable on 'The British Working Man'
which fuses Gilbert and Lemon Jelly with some old pathé sound recordings to
create a Heath Robinson style melee of sounds. By the time we reach 'All The
Streets I Have Known', the band have settled in to some kind of stride but it
seems to be the stride of a man with legs of different lengths and a spring in
his step. 'Emperor' is a chilled, hillbilly infused acoustic lope with a
country feel to it while 'Buckets & Spades' is a gentle, end-of-the-night
waltz that is just perfect for some cheek to cheek dancing.
Things get altogether funkier on
'The Flipside Of Spring' as the guys blend the Black Keys and White Stripes
with a sense of 70s French cool that comes riding in on a moped on cobbled
streets wearing beige corduroy and vintage Ray Bans. The key to the beauty of
Lucky Elephant is that they keep melodies at the heart of everything they do
but that doesn't prevent them from experimenting with different styles and
directions. 'The Girl I Love', for instance, has its roots deep in the Jazz
world but also brings in the cosy familiarity of Badly Drawn Boy so it doesn't
feel to alien to the listener. 'Mercy' is a funky beast with lashings of organ
chords and some scratchy, bouncy guitars while 'Helen' is a chilled out, South
of France beach bum of a song with floaty guitars and some wonderful charms.
The album is brought to a close with 'Little Darlings' which bobs and weaves
like a uncle at a wedding with slightly better moves than you'd given him
credit for, making you see him in an entirely different light. I think I love
everything about Lucky Elephant but not in a lustful, passionate way. No, this
is a band I want to go on long walks with and stay up all night listening to
records with while we drink red wine and have tangential conversations.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/luckyelephantmusic
Live Dates:
17th September - Lee Valley Velo Park w/Iron Horse