ASHA by Elephant Stone: Album Review
ASHA by Elephant Stone: Album Review
Rishi Dhir has never shied away from heavy, emotional themes, exploring them throughout the albums of his seminal psych-rock band, Elephant Stone. Their debut, The Seven Seas, was informed by the tragic circumstances surrounding his wife’s miscarriage, while their last two releases, Hollow and the completely French-language 2022 EP Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune, deal with humanity’s survival on a dying planet and a pandemic-inspired tale of a man who escapes to the moon, only to realize how much he misses Earth and all its faults, respectively.
Dhir named the album after his mother, who passed away during its recording.
Their latest release, ASHA, continues this tradition. Dhir named the album after his mother, who passed away during its recording. Asha is also the Sanskrit word for “hope,” and these two meanings are at the heart of the project: dealing with devastating loss while still trying to remain optimistic in a world that seems to be spiraling out of control.
We begin on a hopeful and redemptive note with “Here Comes the Rising Sun,” its charging rhythm section propelling a haunting melody accented by splashes of synth. Dhir sings, “We rise yet again / Through grief and pain / In a world that’s torn,” a sentiment that is mirrored musically as the song shifts from a dreamy morning haze into a drum-and-guitar freakout in its final moments. The band’s first single, “Everything Evil,” is straight-ahead proto-punk, complete with Chuck Berry riffs and stabbing, bluesy piano—like the New York Dolls if they had taken more psychedelics than opiates and booze.
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The second single is more direct in its target. “Fascists Killed Yer Rock ‘N’ Roll” takes aim at the current state of global affairs, delivering its message through sludgy, Sabbath-style riffs and lyrics like, “They paint the picture, they draw the lines / They all look so smug / They blame outsiders for all yer hard times / Just as they pull the rug.” Sitar hooks weave throughout the song in classic Elephant Stone fashion.
Dhir’s sentiments on this album came across crystal clear to me, imbuing the record with an emotional weight that is tough to come by nowadays.
Two tracks deal most overtly with Dhir’s grief over his mother’s passing. “Parallel and Contrary Motion,” with its celestial harmonies, warm synths, and soaring guitar solo, masks feelings of deep grief and emptiness that accompany the loss of a parent. “Spirit Take Me Away” is a sort of beautiful goodbye, expressing the longing for the peace you wish for a loved one when they leave this plane while confronting the emptiness their absence leaves behind. As someone who lost a parent fairly recently, Dhir’s sentiments on this album came across crystal clear to me, imbuing the record with an emotional weight that is tough to come by nowadays.
Bowen Stead
The rest of the record eases off the gas, moving into more mellow and lyrically introspective territory. The folk of “I Got a Pill,” the soaring ’90s power pop of “Broken Arrow,” and the Bond-theme-inspired opening and closing passages and majestic swells of “A Beautiful Fate” might make it seem as though the genre pendulum is swinging wildly back and forth, but thematically and musically, it all makes perfect sense. The rock-solid drumming of Miles Dupire, the searing guitar work of Robbie MacArthur, Jason Kent’s all-around sonic utility, and Dhir’s production make even the album’s wildest artistic and musical swings feel effortless.
Twenty years into Elephant Stone’s career, they remain at the top of their game, creating adventurous sonic soundscapes that also contain universal truths for anyone willing to stop and listen.
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