squirrels are cool

I’m not sure where the name for Elephant Parade came from, but it seems to fit. What does that mean? …I have no idea. If I replace “elephant” with a different animal, it just doesn’t work–Squirrel Parade, Hamster Parade, Whale Parade? They don’t sound right. (But maybe that’s because there is such a thing as a parade of elephants while as far as I know, a parade of squirrels/hamsters/whales is less common.)

What does Elephant Parade sound like? I would come up with my own description, but other people have done a much better job at it than I could. Here is an equation of choice words pulled from various reviews:

*simple* + *beautiful* + *intimate* + *whispery* + *sweet* + *fragile* + *introverted* = *Elephant Parade*

What I thought most (I mean, aside from the adjectives I just listed) while listening to their album “Bedroom Recordings” was that I felt as though I were listening to something too personal and lo-fi for it to be meant for the general public to hear. A fun album for close friends to enjoy that somehow leaked out to others who were lucky to hear it. And I mean that all in a good way. The occasional bit of unintentional distortion/wind adds makes the songs lovelier. More than that, I like Estelle Baruch’s and Ido Fluk’s soft, effortless singing over simple acoustic guitar and keyboard melodies. My favorite song features Estelle’s warm voice accompanied by sustained piano arpeggios:

Elephant Parade – Boat Song [removed]

They look as cute as they sound, possibly more so:

cue heart melt-age

You can download another song at Zion B’Ayin and read an interview at Whiskey & Apples. If you like what you hear (and you do), support them by buying their painfully short CD. It’s over before you know it, but hey, 22 minutes is still better than zero.

Elephant Parade sounds more “real” to me for some reason than other music. And it’s not like other music sounds…”fake”. But. Well. Maybe you know what I’m talking about after listening to their songs. Nothing is overdone. All I hear is sincerity.

New Yorkers can see the pair in action for free at Pete’s Candy Store on August 25th.