I am, and I apologise, late in getting this review out. But this is such a fab release I just had to get a review out there.
‘Day 42’ is, as you might have guessed, a song about the experiences and effects of lockdown.
What you might not guess is that, seemingly in contradiction to the tone of the song’s subject, is that this is set to something bouncy and funky. Think Tom Tom Club or a funky Talking Heads. Musically it’s horribly addictive, and it grabs you by the arms and drags you up to dance. I mean yep there’s this denser more rocky section towards the end but that just drives you to frenetic movement.
The build to that heavy frenetic section tells the story of the gradual effects of lockdown – from enjoying the novelty to being overwhelmed.
As is normal with the band this thing has words that are brilliant. They tell a story, they convey feelings, they evoke emotions. They tell a universal and personal story.
Martha says ‘Day 42 was definitely inspired by the magical year that was 2020! Lyrically, it just sets the tone of where my mental health was at, pretty bleak. I wrote the song in April 2020 and everyday just felt like it was on repeat’.
As with a lot of the music made during lockdown. The band took to unusual production methods. Martha explains ‘The writing / production process was actually really interesting, as I spent most of lockdown working on my production skills and this was one of the first songs I produced by myself. A lot of the sounds are from around my flat – tapping on a glass bottle, water from a tap – that kind of thing. Just anything I could get my hands on. I then sent the basis of the track to Sam and Tom and we worked on it over zoom together. They both invested in a few mics and we all recorded our parts at home. We then sent the project to our good pal Lotte of Luna Pines who’s production we love. She added a few textures and mixed the track for us. I’m really happy with the sound as it captures a period of time for me’.
A lot of music about the lockdown has passed through LSF Towers; what’s interesting is that everyone approaches it differently. I love the approach The Elephant Trees have taken. This, people, a must listen.
This single is taken from Come Play With Me’s ‘Side By Side’ compilation album.
Available on 12″ ecomix vinyl: https://cpwm.awesomedistro.com/products/694225-cpwm206-side-by-side-lp-compilation-album-ecomix-vinyl
‘Side By Side’ showcases some of the best new music from women, people of marginalised genders and LGBTQIA+ artists based in Yorkshire. It’s a 12 track celebration on one 12″ piece of wax, an exciting, eclectic and awesome mix of great tunes! Limited to just 500 copies of ecomix vinyl.
