“we’ll see you on the other side, or maybe in New York”
The first time I listened to “Hold Tight The Ropes” by Elk City, I liked it. But I didn’t like the album. That changed upon the second listen, and has grown more intense every listen after. There is a rich, lush pop sound present that I haven’t heard in a while. In fact, this is what alternative rock used to be a long time ago, and maybe it’s time to take another look at that time - and the sounds and feelings it produced.
Their press release reads: “Late 60’s psychedelia, early 70’s folk, and mid 80’s first-round indie rock all collide within the album’s 11 idiosyncratic tracks.” Not bad, but not close to describing the band. This is such a hard album to classify; the songs have a wide range of influences, and just as I thought I was on to something, the music would change, I would lose the thread, and it would become something new and unique.
Renee LoBue (vocals and piano-bass) stumbled herself for words to describe the band before saying: “We’re an open-ended experimental band.” Experimental has the wrong connotation though to modern music ears. This is a great pop album. But there is a rock context behind that, and beautiful craftsmanship. (The songwriting skills of the band are on full display here, but the production work of Ray Ketchum [drums, organs, synths, percussion] also shines.)
According to Renee, all three members of the band write every song, and all three members are highly influenced by different music types of music – resulting in a continuous melding of sounds. Overall, I believe there’s an 80’s early indie taste here, along the lines of The Pretenders, Concrete Blonde, and even some of the bands from the Some Kind of Wonderful Soundtrack (Lick the Tins, March Violets, Apartments, Housemartins). That taste has been refined here and lies very, very well in your palette.
All songs feature both Renee and Peter (vocals, guitars, harmonica) singing, a device that works splendidly. And the lyrics they write (usually focusing on getting out or reaching for something) are smart and fun: “Oh, the way you sing / you make us want to cry / you grew your nails too long / and we wondered if you did drugs” from “Once and for All”; “I could claim they did me wrong/ but you can’t fly a kite to Paris/ there’s no string that long/ the television tries to scare us/ but we belong” from “Don’t Fight”; or “Don’t’ you try to hold me to the truth/ I was just trying to talk with you” from “Indiana.”
“Indiana” starts the album, and is driven pop, catchy with some distorted guitar. “Once and for All” is a folky indie tune. “Smile” is moody and sensous, an atmospheric Leonard Cohen whispering sex (“This one’s for you pretty girl”). “Don’t Fight” is quirky and retro. “Kmart” is a song that builds. “Summer Song” develops nicely and is very 80’s new wave.
“Hold Tight the Ropes” shows extreme promise, and that promise is of more good things to come. Renee said, “I think we’re a band that people will stumble across many years after all this….people don’t like that they can’t classify us….sometimes it takes a long time to get us.”
Don’t be those people. Check out Elk City’s music. It’ll do you good. It did me good.