ALBUM REVIEW: Pink Elephant – Stand Atlantic
2018 saw Aussie quintet STAND ATLANTIC establish themselves as your lovable, easy-going and undeniably catchy pop-punk underdogs with their smash debut hit Skinny Dipping. We see them return this year with their sophomore reprisal, Pink Elephant, a vivaciously experimental 11-track album that breathes an uplifting life into these gloomful times.
Kicking off with Like That, this album sees the band flaunt their love for sugary pop choruses with that catchy hook “heavy dose, comatose…” – something you can really sink your teeth into, and an easy crowd-pleaser for live shows (whenever they may return). As an opening track, Like That is a ballpark swing that sets the bar astoundingly high and is a powerful contender for being one of their best songs of the whole album.
The strengths of this album lie within their forward-thinking mentality to genre. Pink Elephant feels like an extension of their much-beloved pop-punk sound but pushes the boundaries on both ends, resulting in the fruitful and refreshing pop anthems Shh!, Silk & Satin, and Eviligo that sound like they’ve been plucked from mainstream radio. But in the spirit of paying homage to their roots, many of the tracks also lean into that gritty, rough around the edges feeling, Jurassic Park, DWYW, Hate Me (sometimes) in particular.
On the front, most of this album has a real rambunctious, youthful spirit to it that will easily get you in a good mood. But one track to break away from that is Drown in Drink, a soulful piano ballad that speaks volumes to the struggles of unhealthy coping mechanisms and addiction, something to resonate with many in these trying times. This is a real shining moment for vocalist Bonnie Fraser, the simplicity of her vocals with the piano gives a raw, tender touch to this song and opens a window of vulnerability for listeners to see another side to her.
As the name suggests, Pink Elephant injects the unusual and infectious personality of the band that broadens beyond their previous sound. Looking back to their 2016 Sidewinder days it’s easy to see how the band has explored new methodologies for creative expression. Most of 2013 to 2016 was every new-age pop-punk band passing around the same guitar riffs, Sidewinder was a great stride for its time but for fans, it’ll be exciting to see STAND ATLANTIC incorporate funky and fun electronic elements in tracks like Eviligo that subvert from the conventional crutch of riff-heavy pop-punk/pop-rock anthems.
In today’s musical climate, with hefty demand consuming the creators, and genre wars devouring music fans, bands may feel pressured to make drastically different songs just for the sake of proving that they can. Though this album does somewhat lack in the substance of sound with many of the melodies and hooks blurring into the same noise and perhaps might have benefited from some differentiation, STAND ATLANTIC promote the exciting character of the band through the energy of their songs, which again, usually fares well in live performances. They’re bold, fun, off-the-wall, and people you’d think “I would love to be their friends”, the way they weave the essence of who they are into their music makes up for the repetitive instrumental patterns in this album.
Pink Elephant is a valiant attempt to flourish the band’s creative capabilities and overall succeeds in doing just that. It’s silly, groovy, a little bit sad, and a wider look into who the band is and how they play around with music. For fans who’ve grown up with them over the past five years this might feel like a pivotal maturing moment, the band is refining and tailor their tastes that can only lead to improvement. Truly a standout for what’s coming out at the moment, one might say it’s an elephant in the room.
Rating: 8/10
Pink Elephant is out now via Hopeless Records.
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