If anyone ever told the New York quartet Elkland synthpop is dead, they obviously didn’t say it loud enough.
With its debut album “Golden” from Columbia Records, Elkland pays tribute to bands such as the Smiths and New Order with 12 tracks of synthesizer laden rock straight from the 1980s.
However, Elkland lacks one key element needed for a decent album – substance.
Pop music is generally devoid of poetry and Elkland is no exception with lyrics that dwell on the negative aspects of life. “Golden” falls in the realm of a New Wave singer stealing his seventh-grade sister’s diary for inspiration.
Lyrics such as “You and I will never be apart / And you will never erase from my heart” will burst the ear drums of a music aficionado wanting something more permanent than the typical love story gone wrong. If lead singer Jon Pierce loves a “great pop song” – as he said in the band’s biography on its Web site – he would have been better off paying someone more verbally talented than himself to write lyrics. Instead, listeners are led into a lonely world that is surprisingly fueled by Joel Tarpin’s varied skills on vintage synthesizers.
Of the album’s two featured tracks – “Apart” and “Everybody’s Leaving” – “Apart” will draw in listeners with a synthesizer introduction and an up-tempo beat worthy of radio airplay. Aside from this, do not expect Elkland to lead a musical revolution for the rebirth of New Wave rock.
Despite playing a genre of music that is nearly extinct, Elkland does have some shining moments that make overlooking Jon Pierce’s lack of prose understandable.
Tarpin and drummer Jesse Pierce, (Jon Pierce’s brother) create rhythms that are as catchy now as they would have been 25 years ago. There is an undertone that if Elkland were to mature, it could be a great band. Though for Elkland to do this, it would have to drop the New Wave sound, or at the very least cut back dramatically, and take some creative writing workshops.
According to the band’s official biography on its Web site, Jon Pierce said Elkland’s goals were to create an album people will enjoy 10 years from now. Fortunately for music lovers, the Smiths will still be in full rotation while Elkland will have disappeared into obscurity.
