Album Review: Elephant Tree & Lowrider – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)

The psychedelic doom pillars Elephant Tree and Lowrider have come together to present the collaborative album, ‘The Long Forever’. Arriving in the wake of two landmark 2020 releases (‘Habits’ from Elephant Tree and ‘Refractions’ from Lowrider), it will be released on October 25th via Blues Funeral Recordings.

Sharing equal space, showcasing what makes them as individuals, unique, while also showing how collaborative they can be, both Elephant Tree & Lowrider deliver something special on this new album. One that comes with a certain amount of gravitas as in the case of Elephant Tree, it’s the first new music they’ve created together since singer/guitarist Jack Townley ended up in a coma following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023.

Lowrider get this groovy, doom-infused, stoner and psych-vibing, blues-tinged record off to an energetic start though. Delivering plenty of thrills with the heavy opener, And the Horse You Rode in On. Before mellowing things out with the expansive psychedelic effort that is Caldera, a fascinating decent into the mind of Lowrider.

The vibrancy of these tracks is so notable, even though they offer wildly different tones, and then along comes the thick and sinewy sound of Into the Grey to make things even more exciting. The mind will spark, the body will move, and the soul will bounce to the groove of Lowrider. Who cap off their part of the split album with Through the Riff, which just so happens to feature Elephant Tree. The two powerhouses combined is something else entirely, and even though this one isn’t the most progressive sounding, it is the most psychedelic thanks, in part, to the chorus of voices.

Lowrider, having truly impressed with their offerings, now hand the reins over to Elephant Tree who come out swinging with an immediate giant of a track. It’s called Fucked in the Head and its ambient start sets the scene for something exciting and unnerving. Which is exactly what this track offers, the aural sound of madness. A dark and twisted effort that is incredibly disconcerting, but utterly transfixing.

It certainly doesn’t get any easier to experience with the following 4 for 2, except this is a shorter experience and there’s a more coherent heavy rhythm here. It’s still dark, it’s still moody, and it’s still weird, but that’s Elephant Tree and it’s an aspect about them that we all love.

Then, wrapping up their section and the album with the title track, which features Lowrider. An already incredibly textured release getting new layers as the gravitas of the record reaches its apex. As great as both bands’ individual tracks have been, their combined efforts have delivered some of the more unique stuff overall. Regardless of what’s your particular favourite, all can appreciate the work that has gone into making this record feel important and the work that has gone into showing where the future lies for both bands to some degree.

Elephant Tree & Lowrider – The Long Forever Track Listing:

1. Lowrider – And the Horse You Rode in On
2. Lowrider – Caldera
3. Lowrider – Into the Grey
4. Lowrider – Through the Rift (feat. Elephant Tree)
5. Elephant Tree – Fucked in the Head
6. Elephant Tree – 4 For 2
7. Elephant Tree – Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)

Elephant Tree Links

Facebook⎮Bandcamp⎮Instagram⎮Spotify⎮YouTube

Lowrider Links

Facebook⎮Bandcamp⎮Instagram⎮Spotify | YouTube
 
Blues Funeral Recordings Links

Website⎮Facebook⎮Bandcamp⎮Instagram