If you were to take the name Elvis Depressedly at face value, it would be easy to write the lo-fi duo off as nothing more than a joke. However, once you go further into the mind of primary songwriter Mat Cothran – accompanied by his fiancé Delaney Mills – you come to realise that it is this tongue in cheek humour that makes their latest album ‘New Alhambra’ such an endearing prospect. The name of the album itself comes from the legendary sports arena in Philadelphia that was home to many extreme pro-wrestling events, and throughout is littered with samples of absurd religious preaching’s, all of which provide a contrast to the bands name which to the unknown, would strike up bleak and miserable connotations.
Having already self-released numerous recordings, Elvis Depressedly are not new to this, but ‘New Alhambra’ is certainly their most rounded record to date. The lo-fi, bedroom recording sound of 2011’s ‘Holo Pleasures’ was incredibly welcoming, but this time around their sound has been given more clarity, allowing the songs to breathe and really showing the depth of Cothran’s song writing. That said the recording is far from slick, and still has that warm DIY feel about.
The haunting keys that swirl underneath Cothran’s vocal on ‘Thou Shall Not Murder’ and an extra layer to an otherwise be a minimal sound of softly strummed guitars, that carry an air of Elliot Smith style simplicity to them. The gorgeous ‘N.M.S.S’ is particularly heart-warming, and as Cothran informs us that “I love everyone that I have ever known”, feels a world away from the despair that littered Elvis Depressedly’s earlier output.
The are moments on ‘New Alhambra’ which sound more like a full band affair with additional musicians involved, particularly the swooning ‘Bruises (Amethyst)’ with its heavily chorused guitars which fade into yet more radicalist samples, helping segue the album together. It flows like one continuous body of work rather than separate compositions, with everything methodically woven. It makes the self-examining rhetoric of ‘Big Break’ and ‘Ease’ feel like you are turning the pages of a book and starting a new chapter at the beginning of each song.
When you reach the final track ‘Wastes of Time’, it solidifies that this is just not another “sad boy bro music” album (or whatever the internet wants to call it), and that glimmers of hope shine from Cothran’s sanguine lyrics. While to some may it not be the most poignant of sentiments, but the closing lines of “If you try I will try / when we fuck up it’s alright / there’s always more to life / than all these wastes of time” will ring true with anyone looking for just a moment of solace in a song.
Given that signing with Run For Cover Records will give Elvis Depressedly the exposure that they truly deserve, it should open up a raft of people becoming invested in the band. They probably won’t be propelled from the underground, but an album as humble, honest, and well written as ‘New Alhambra’ should be in more people’s lives.
GLEN BUSHELL