Elephant Revival are the kind of band who get photographed a lot in forests since woodland settings emphasise their empathy with the natural world.
Their chosen name exemplifies their commitment to social and environmental issues. It is a reference to a news story of two elephants who were separated by zookeepers after 14 years together and shortly afterwards died on the same day.
On their homepage, the Colorado-based quintet (three men, two women) are, for once, not pictured surrounded by trees but in front of a building. Each are clutching their main instrument : a banjo, a double bass, a washboard, an acoustic guitar and a fiddle. This makes it crystal clear that unplugged country-folk is what they do.
Dango Rose, the double bass man, goes further by setting out their mission as being "to close the gap of separation between us through the eternal revelry of song and dance".
In this joyful mood, the band's third album is a lively mix of Celtic and Bluegrass music which has been labelled in some quarters as "transcendental folk".
The refined melodies and overall 'niceness' are good enough to forgive occasionally mawkish moments of excess sentimentality. For example, one twee couplet on the opening track (Birds And Stars) goes: "Like a bee to a flower a buzz/ Does a flower question love?".
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The Rakers and The Pasture are two instrumentals that best demonstrate the unity in their sound.
On other tracks, vocal duties are shared with washboarder Bonnie Paine's vibrato voice being the most distinctive. She sings on three tunes including the rousing, foot stomping finale Rogue River.
Ending on such an upbeat note hammers home the band's dedication to socially aware, life affirming tunes.
Elephant Revival's website
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