Montreal outfit Elephant Stone have today announced the details of their forthcoming sixth album Hollow and are now sharing the lead single and album-opener, ‘Hollow World’. Set for release on 14 February 2020 on Fuzz Club Records and front-man and sitarist Rishi Dhir’s own imprint Elephants On Parade, the new record arrives following their Burger Records-released 2016 LP, Ship Of Fools, and a number of recent side-projects and collaborations, such as the Acid House Ragas project and new band MIEN with members of The Horrors and The Black Angels. With tour dates in the US about to kick off, the band are also now announcing a European tour in support of the new LP which will include a show at London’s Moth Club on February 14th.
“We long to feel less empty, inside our hollow world”. No truer words have been spoken. So begins ‘Hollow World’. A sprawling psychedelic pop song filled with humanity, sadness, and beauty, it begs the listener, “What do they mean, all these empty words?” A question we all ask society and its inaction with combating climate change. ‘Hollow World’ is a warning for all of us: now, not tomorrow, is the time to make a change. Do not make future generations pay the price for our listlessness. The song ends with a young girl – Rishi’s 9-year old daughter, Meera – singing, “Goodbye, sunshine. Hello, dark skies. So long, clean air. Do you care?” Well, do you?
Talking about the album and new single, Rishi says: “I’m sure I’m not alone in this sentiment. If social media has taught us anything, it’s that there are a lot of unhappy people out there who are trying to find a way out. They are looking for meaning and something to believe in… or nothing to believe in. We all want the same thing but are trying to achieve it in different ways. With this in mind, we wrote and recorded our 6th full-length, Hollow. I set forth writing a song-suite telling of a world of unhappy souls who have lost connection with each other.” The result is an ambitious, dystopian sci-fi concept album which Rishi says is inspired by The Who’s ‘Tommy’, Pretty Things’ ‘S.F, Sorrow’ and the second side of The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’.
Debuting a decade ago, the psych-pop creation of Rishi Dhir along with long-time collaborators Miles Dupire (drums) and Robbie MacArthur (guitar), and touring member Jason Kent (keys/guitar), have released five critically-acclaimed albums, toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, been nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and picked up praise from the likes of NPR, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence of Sound, Rolling Stone, Clash Magazine and more. As a highly-regarded sitar player, Dhir has also collaborated with indie-rock icons (Beck) and legendary cult bands (The Brian Jonestown Massacre).
This is the first Elephant Stone release that has been fully recorded and produced in Dhir’s Sacred Sounds recording studio, completely changing the band’s approach to making music. With a new sense of confidence in their production, there is truly nothing that can stop Elephant Stone from making music and giving it to the world.
UK/EUROPE TOUR-DATES
Jan 29 – Nijmegen, NL @ Merleyn
Jan 30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Jan 31 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Feb 01 – Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree
Feb 02 – TBC DE @ TBC
Feb 03 – Basel, CH @ Kaserne
Feb 05 – Bordeaux, FR @ L’Astrodome
Feb 06 – Zaragoza, ES @ Las Armas
Feb 07 – Madrid, ES @ Wurlitzer Ballroom
Feb 08 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Upload/Barcelona Psychfest
Feb 10 – Leuven, BE @ Het Depot
Feb 11 – Nottingham, UK @ The Chameleon
Feb 12 – Glasgow, UK @ Nice & Sleazy
Feb 13 – Manchester, UK @ The Castle Hotel
Feb 14th – London, UK @ Moth Club
Feb 15th – Paris, FR @ Espace B
