It's not often steel drums get pressed into service on an indie track, but ELEL has managed to do so on "40 Watt" while still ensuring that the final product doesn't lose itself in the island vibes. The song is well balanced, so we would stop short of calling it overly poppy or lighthearted, but what the band does do well is take each of the individual instruments and mold them into something unique and refreshingly crisp. If broken down into its individual parts, "40 Watt" would seem like nothing more than your average alt-rock track. It's got a pretty standard beat, and the vocals are lo-fi in much the same way we've heard in a lot of recent bands. However, what separates ELEL from the rest of 'em is their ability to combine all these different pieces into one cohesive unit. The tropical instrumentation fused with the stripped-down bassline and fuzzy chorus might not seem like it would work, but don't be fooled. "40 Watt" syncs up quite nicely, and all the pieces you thought might cause trouble actually go a long ways towards making this track memorable and distinct. The Nashville-based band behind it all, headed by front man Ben Elkins, is just starting out, but already they're honing their brand, and it's working out quite nicely. Be on the lookout for more great tracks from the guys, because their sound is one that should work nicely with a range of track compositions and styles.
ELEL