Tag: Brook Bear and the Elephant
Eric Ott – In Lieu Of Flowers
75OL-235 Eric Ott – In Lieu Of Flowers
$10.00 S&H Included
Track Listing
1. Consciousness
2. Little Wars
3. Old
4. Epiphany (feeling)
5. Pop Starlet
6. Felt
7. If You Were Thinking
8. Medicine Cabinet
9. These Pills
10. Crumble Your Bones
11. Our Dear Catherine
12. Under The Bed
13. Free
Remember a time when you would sit on the floor, put your headphones on and listen to a record from start to finish? It took you to a place, perhaps under a sonic wave of angst, romance, sadness, or happiness. With new technology, it took the 45, or later the cassette singles too far, and we started cherry picking our favorite songs off these records. We were just choosing snapshots from a vacation rather than enjoying the entire experience.
In Lieu of Flowers is a throwback to the Long Playing Format. The LP. It touches on mortality, struggle, aging, suicide and ultimately death. At first it may seem as an arduous listen but pays off in the end as you will be taken to a different place. Like a movie or a book, or like the LP that you might have rolled your first cigarette on.
In Lieu of Flowers will not be available digitally. It will not be on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play etc. It is only available on CD. Some have said that I am crazy for rolling out a project that took me over 3 years to write and record. The answer, of course I am, I am an artist. Enjoy the trip and thank you for listening.
– Eric Ott
Brook, Bear and the Elephant ‘Montreal’ Album Reviewed at Foster’s
Here’s what we know. Nate Laban and Eric Ott have both enjoyed individual successes in their own respective songwriting endeavors. We also know that they’re good friends. So, it makes sense then that at some point in time they’d join forces and pump out some creative jams. That time is now.
Under the band name Brook, Bear and the Elephant (joined by other Seacoast musical vets Sean Yadisernia on lead guitar and vocals, and Dan McGary on drums and vocals), Laban and Ott have crafted a collection of nine tunes that push the bounds of each other’s general comfort zones. The result is grandiose, and the collective whole of their debut, “Montreal” is eclecticly interesting and wholly satisfying, from the influences that earned both of them individual praise to the inclusion of a little “Pet Sounds” era Beach Boys psychedelia pop, and contemporary Tweedy-ish playfulness and experimentation.
The most impressive part about the collaborative journey these fellas have embarked on is the successful forging of two uniquely different voices and outputting memorable vocal harmonies throughout the entirety of the record. I’ve long written about how Ott’s voice is reminiscent of Michael Stype, and the same is true of Laban’s Elvis Costello-ish punk-injected croon. Mash ‘em up, and you get some interesting results.
One of the highlights for me is the track, “Normal, IL.” Among the record’s other eight tracks one of the two gentleman take the vocal lead, while the other harmonizes in accordance with the general feel of the tune. On “Normal, IL,” both take the lead for a turn (while the underlying harmonizing still takes place). The track is fairly mellow compared with the rest of the offerings, but is cut right in half by a solo that you might find as a working piece of a Traveling Wilbury’s song structure. Upon completion of that slicing six-string flame, both Laban and Ott finish out the tune in unison, as the lead, levels both equally matched. It’s mighty fine.
Sam Hill – Sonja
75OL-216 Sam Hill – Sonja CD
$8.00 S&H Included
Digital download is available here
Track Listing
1. 37 Rings 3:06
2. Serpents 3:59
3. Bullet 5:24
4. Scourge of the Warm Blooded 3:12
5. Wait For Me 3:00
6. Lithuanian Maiden 5:34
7. Electric Funeral 4:58
Sam Hill is the devil. The band originally formed in 2013 to be the backing band for some of Nate and Cam’s pop-punk tunes, but with the added influence of Jason and his harder hitting tastes turned into what is now Sam Hill. All members of the band have been playing regionally for 20+ years and have been friends for just as long. Themes on the record range from tree people (37 rings), to life taking a form of a bullet, to ice giants (scourge of the warm-blooded), to the love of the woods by Maine’s own North Pond Hermit: Mr. Christopher Knight (Wait for me). The song ‘Serpents’ refers to an experience of losing 3 friends in a freezing winter river and being the last to see them alive. Lithuanian Maiden was a piece inspired by a piece of artwork by Joshua Belanger, a local NH artist.