ALBUM REVIEW: Handful Of Ten – Elephant Tree

London’s ELEPHANT TREE are in many ways something of an overlooked gem in the UK heavy music scene. Having initially developed their unique blend of droning, fuzz-heavy riffs and soaring, blissed-out vocal harmonies as a duo in 2013, the band became a four-piece in time to record and release their 2014 debut Theia to great critical acclaim. Their self-titled second album followed in 2015 and brought them to the attention of fans across the Atlantic, seeing the band perform at the Psycho Las Vegas Festival.

Following a couple of line-up changes, third album Habits should have sent the band into the stratosphere. Both immediate and complex, heavy and beautiful, it still stands as one of the best heavy albums recorded by a British band in the last decade. Unfortunately for ELEPHANT TREE, Habits was released on Holy Roar Records shortly before the label was dissolved following a number of allegations against its founder and director. This meant that Habits never received the support and level of promotion it deserved and the band found themselves without a home. On top of this, in 2023 frontman Jack Townley was severely injured in a bike accident which, fortunately, he is well on the road to recovering from.

Now back at Magnetic Eye Records – the band’s home for their first two releases – ELEPHANT TREE are celebrating an eventful first decade with the release of Handful Of Ten, a selection of demos, rarities and new tracks spanning the band’s career to date. Appropriately this compilation begins with their first ever demo, 2013’s Attack Of The Altaica. While it lacks the production values of their later releases it still brilliantly sets out the blueprint for everything that would come afterwards. Sparse, dreamy verses filled with sinister harmonised vocals float through the speakers before being crushed by the mountainous main riff that accompanies the chorus. A doom-fuelled middle eight and coda finish things off in style.

Second track Visions (The Planet Of Doom) begins almost like a medieval madrigal, layers of vocal harmonies again flow forth, this time accompanied by Mellotron-style keyboards. This gives way to another colossal doom riff, slow, fuzzy and imposing, before the whole thing blends together to become a spaced-out trip through a series of melodic verses that wouldn’t sound out of place on an early TRAVIS or SUPER FURRY ANIMALS album. The song again closes with a slowed down passage of classic doom, augmented here by the guttural bellows of guest vocalist Ryan Gledhill. The contrast between the majority of the song and this apocalyptic ending is fantastic and it’s a shame the band have (so far) never really explored this vocal dynamic further.

We also get alternative versions of two songs from Habits – early recordings of the beautiful Bird and the droning Faceless. These are both excellent songs, although the recordings here aren’t all that different from their final renditions other than being slightly inferior in terms of sonic quality. 

Perhaps of most interest on Handful Of Ten, though, are the two brand new tracks recorded specifically for this release. The first of these is Try, which drives along at a faster pace than a lot of ELEPHANT TREE’s catalogue (although it’s still a long way away from being thrash) thanks to its groovy, syrupy, fuzzy riff that veers between RUSSIAN CIRCLES-style drone rock and LED ZEPPELIN-esque groove. Blending this with their trademark vocal harmonies again results in a curious and addictive sound – part 90s indie rock, part 70s doom – which is tough to pigeonhole but undoubtedly glorious when it gets its hooks in you. Another brand new song, Sunday, finishes this collection off in classic ELEPHANT TREE style, all massive flapping riffs and sun-kissed, melancholic vocals. Fans will be reassured by the power and quality of these two new offerings and the band sounds positively galvanised by their return to the recording studio. 

Although it might not represent the best starting point for those unfamiliar with the band’s unique sound, this is an absolute must for those already caught in the branches of the TREE. Handful Of Ten does a great job of reminding you just how great ELEPHANT TREE are and just how excited we should all be about their next batch of new material.

Rating: 7/10

Handful Of Ten is set for release on September 6th via Magnetic Eye Records.

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