MARY THE ELEPHANT ~ JUMBLE .... review

 

Heavy(ish) grooves that lean towards the more grungy bluesy end of the underground rock spectrum are what Sweden's Mary The Elephant, Hami Malek (vocals); Isaac Ingelsbo (guitar); Johan Fogelberg (bass); Doe (drums) and Patrik Gardberg (lead guitar), deliver with their latest EP "Jumble" a sound very much in keeping with that which could be found on their previous self-titled EP "Mary The Elephant", grooves that could be argued owe as much a debt to bands like Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots as they do the likes of fellow Swedish outfits like Graveyard, Kamchatka and Horisont.  

A chunky guitar motif accompanied by a thunderous drum tattoo kicks off opening number "Chemical Funeral" which is soon joined by the bass in a grungy side of stoner/hard rock groove over which a powerfully delivered vocal rails against the world in tones that possess a throaty gruff soulfulness. Next song "Malady" boasts a less in your face and somewhat more classic rock flavoured vocal melody than its predecessor but do not let that fool you into thinking that this song lacks heaviness or bite as there are plenty of crunching power chords, growling bass and big punchy rhythms to get your teeth into on this one as well as some very impressive bluesy guitar shredding. There is a strong doomic feel to following song "Curse-Breaker" the band musically edging pretty close to low slow and heavy stoner doom territory around an impressively pitched vocal that is delivered just a tad mournful and wearied. After having to deal with an annoying and persistently bothersome wasp/hornet while writing this review the last thing Desert Psychlist needed was a song titled "Swarm" that contains the lyric "I can hear them buzzing all around me" and begins and ends with the sound of swarming insects, that aside this is a superb, if somewhat quirky little number boasting plenty of twists and turns that although may not be immediately evident on a first listen will reveal themselves with repeated spins. Penultimate number "Birth Of A Giant" is a nice if rather brief fusion like instrumental that leads us nicely into closing number "Shadows" a slow building grungy classic rock flavoured tome decorated with a lilting vocal melody and featuring some beautiful Gilmour-esque guitar textures, it maybe not the barnburner some might be expecting as a closer but it is nevertheless still a great song.

Mary The Elephant's "Jumble" is parts swaggering and heavy and parts soulful and mellow, a release that trades more on the strengths of its melodies than it does the power of its riffs. If you were asked to recommend a release to a friend teetering on the edge of taking the plunge into the darker recesses of the underground rock scene then "Jumble" would be the perfect release to point them towards, its got the grit but its also got the polish! 

Check it out ...

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