Review: Elephant Tree ‘Handful Of Ten’

So much of what we love in this dense primordial soup of stoner rock and doom metal revolves around the worship of the riff. The riff crushes all but also gives life. It guides but also subdues. It doesn’t have to be overly complex or compressed, but it should be memorable. London’s Elephant Tree are some of the finest purveyors of the majesty of the simple riff.

I have enjoyed just about everything they have put forth in their ten-plus-year career. Using the power of doom’s granite pulverizing heavy guitar assault with songwriting dynamics closer to ‘90s alt rock and even Brit pop, they truly cut a unique swath in a scene that – like many others – is often beset with clones and groups that are less interested with finding their own voice. Handful Of Ten is their latest offering and it is everything you expect of such a strong outfit.

It begins with a killer 2013 demo version of Attack Of The Altaica off of 2014’s Theia. What is up with demo versions of songs that sound far better than the album versions? It’s a mystery as old as time itself. This hits with greater snarl thanks to less polished production and great use of movie samples from the 1954 monster movie Them.

Visions (Planet of Doom) lulls the listener into a false sense of calm with a melancholy acapella vocal arrangement before the monstrous guitar tones take hold. Despite the title, this seems to have much more psychedelic influence than previous offerings from the group, that is until the gate is unleashed at the end for a truly gargantuan monitor-shredding heavy riff.

With a bit of old and a bit of new, Handful Of Ten is Elephant Tree 101…

Try is an upbeat grunge number straight out of some early ‘90s Sub Pop compilation, and I couldn’t be happier. It reminds me of the lesser known group Love Battery. The juxtaposition of the grinding instruments with Jack Townley’s somewhat mournful and vulnerable vocals is as on point as ever.

The 2017 demo of Bird feels a bit more reminiscent of A Perfect Circle than Tool, but I think it actually suffers a bit from the opposite effect of the Attack Of The Altaica demo and although a bit too lo-fi it’s still a great number. The same holds true with a 2017 version of Faceless off of the Habit record. But the final track Sunday’ absolutely rips with a Torche-like riff that bristles with energy and dynamism.

With a bit of old and a bit of new, Handful Of Ten is Elephant Tree 101. I would hope for a new full-length from the lads soon, maybe it’ll follow their collaboration with Lowrider? This, however, is still one of the best releases of 2024. It may be a short compilation, but it is certainly more than a handful.

Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Rob Walsh