Sydney-based band Elstow has come out strong with their debut full-length album, which was released December 1.
Planets Away is far from lacking in hypnotism. With a dream-like quality flowing throughout each track, the album draws the listener further in with each song.
The songs are long, the shortest clocking in at over four minutes, which only elevates the atmosphere that Elstow’s sound works to create.
Australian-based magazine Happy describes it aptly: “Ripe in neo-psychedelic flavour and the genre’s proclivity for starry-eyed escapism, Planets Away is a warm, vivid and hypnotic debut LP from Elstow.”
The record opens with its leading single, “Night & Day.”
Full of multiple instrumental and rhythmic layers, the track is complex but remains upbeat. Written to open the album, it serves as an introduction to the band’s aesthetic while leaving the listener ready for more.
Planets Away Transports to Outer Space
Jared Shaw, the sole songwriter for Elstow’s full length, incorporates space imagery and references throughout the album, further elevating its psychedelic quality.
“Self-Imploding Identity” is a prime example of this, with lyrics that conjure images of outer space throughout.
The implosion of the sun referenced throughout is an analogy to the implosion of world views, “acid rain acid rain falling” and leaving only remains of what once was.
The album’s title track fades directly into “Sleight of Hand,” a duo that closes out the album perfectly.
“Planets Away” is inspired by an alien dream and related stories, which Shaw sees as outrageous but relatable to everyday life. Slow and driven by melody, the song has a groove that flows nicely into a lengthy jam.
Improvised and led by an organ solo, the instrumental interlude creates a bridge between the title track and the album’s closer.
“Sleight of Hand” continues the space theme in lyrics and sound, remaining mellow throughout to the end of the record.
Elstow’s first full length album is psychedelic and hypnotic in the best of ways, captivating the listener from beginning to end. Space themes throughout tie each song together into a single complete whole, each track flowing seamlessly into the next.
Planets Away is sure to leave you coming back for more.
