Bent By Elephants

The Third Floor Sessions happen at Ryerson University in a small room, in front of a small audience, the primary purpose (as I understand it) is to train audio and video students. Every time it happens though you and I get the rewards. The Ryerson folk put the whole session up in a zip file that you can download and post the video to YouTube.

On the most recent session posted they have Montreal's Bent By Elephants who I honestly hadn't heard before this. They sound, on first listen, a bit like an indie rock version of $100 with a few dashes of Throwing Muses tossed in. If you happen to by in Montreal and are looking for something to do they are having their CD release for This is Water tonight at Divan Orange with Harp of the North. You can also catch them at Hillside in Guelph on July 24.

Grab the 9 song .zip file from their 3rd floor session at spiritlive.net. - http://one.nxew.ca/2010/05/free-download-bent-by-elephants-at-3rd.html

Bent By Elephants is a band I always expected would play a great show. On MySpace, the Montreal-based group's songs caught my attention, but they felt a bit hemmed in by the four walls of my computer, so to speak. I got the sense that live, they would really have the necessary space to breathe. Seeing them at Divan Orange last Sunday confirmed my suspicions. The band was launching their first LP, called This Is Water, and they played a beautiful, energy-filled set to mark the occasion.
Bent By Elephants came to be in 2008 and since then they've honed a rich, textured sound that frontwoman Chesley Walsh says is influenced as much by rhythmically-driven music as it is by popular folk and pop. Each of the band's seven members is, simply, an incredibly talented music maker, and together they create songs that are full of listenable melodies and interesting layers.
At their best moments - and there are many of those - Bent By Elephants are dynamic, spontaneous, and compelling to watch. But their songs could be longer, especially when they're playing them live. All the strengths listed above equal live performances that gather a lot of momentum, at the height of which their songs tend to end abruptly. Whether it's an intentional trope to leave the audience wanting more, or just a relatively young band still growing into itself, is hard to know. But Walsh says the group hopes to start to tour more in the coming months, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again after they've been on the road a while, playing together night after night. I have a feeling they'll be even better when they return. - midnight poutine

If you were at home watching The Amazing Race last night, you can start kicking yourself now, because the musical stampede that went through Green Room on Sunday was at least eighteen elephant-weights better. Montreal band Bent By Elephants played with guests Miesha Louis and Michelle Tompkins to a full house, and it was basically impossible to leave without a smile on your face and some good tunes ringing in your ears. Of course, you're excused if you were hanging out with your mom - but that's your only get-out-of-jail-free card.

Those who got to the show early enough (a.k.a. on time - go figure) were met with a pleasant surprise: the musical stylings of Michelle Tompkins. A one-woman act originally from Nova Scotia, Tompkins' voice is smooth, full, and completely devoid of the uncertainty that sometimes accompanies the singer-songwriter subset. And there's a brain behind the raw musicality of her performance; after introducing a song she wrote inspired by Mohammed Ali, Ted Bundy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s mom, and Phillipe Petit, one audience member whispered, "I think she thinks a lot." It's a good thing, too: Tompkins is definitely an artist that should be on your radar.

Second to play was Miesha Louis, first by herself and then with a rowdy crowd of boys backing her up. They had some energy and got the place going for la pièce de résistance: without even introducing themselves (they're so humble), Bent By Elephants faded onto the stage, played an awesome hour of music, and left me smiling.

The band got started about a year ago when guitarist and vocalist front-woman Chesley Walsh and guitar-man extraordinaire Luke Fowlie joined forces with other musicians from the McGill conservatory; fellow students Alex Whyte, Ryan Frizzell, Paul Van Dyk, Sophie Gibbons, and Avrum Hollinger rounded out the gang that became Bent By Elephants, featuring an array of instruments from guitars, a violin, and double bass to trombone and trumpet. And though their drummer couldn't make it last night, they were accompanied by Charlotte Cornfield - whose new EP comes out this Thursday at Green Room, too - at the rhythmic helm .

Bent By Elephant's proof is in the classically-trained pudding: their collective formal training shows in the complexity of the music and the band's versatility, but doesn't hinder their relaxed presentation and informal style. In "Wrecker in the Dark," the whole band sang a catchy tune while clapping some thorny rhythms (cue bad memories from Grade 2 theory class). Later, while Fowlie was changing a broken string, the rest of the band played a rousing impromptu cover of MJ's "Billy Jean." And when providing a second voice to Walsh's confident first, Whyte goes beyond the third-above technique so popular with back-up singers, and adds depth to the melody.

You won't be bored by any I-IV-V-I routines with these guys, either. Fowlie brings a lot of fresh and unique (not to mention fascinating to watch) guitar work to the band. But it's really an ensemble piece - Bent By Elephants songs range from a single violin line to a cacophonous mash-up of strings, horns, and voice. Not only are they good at what they do, they clearly love making music. Make sure to check them out at Centre St-Ambroise when they're back in town on June 26.

--By Margo Nossal - http://www.midnightpoutine.ca/

Whims and Borders by Bent by Elephants, from This Is Water (independent)



Postmodern Billie Holiday blues, sung sublimely by a star – “catch my fate faster" – in a hurry. Montreal’s Chesley Walsh and her limber orchestral rock crew pack more stylish thrill in four minutes than Roger Bannister. - Globe and Mail

Friday, January 22. 2010
Blown away by Bent By Elephants

At first glance, it seems as though there are a couple of reasons to be leery of Bent By Elephants. They're a septet, for one thing, and for another they're McGill music students, and for another still they specialize in jazz-pop. While noneof those things are inherently bad, I suppose, they're not exactly reassuring, either. In fact, if you were looking for a recipe on how to make the most self-indulgent band imaginable, you'd probably want to start by bringing together a whole bunch of university music students and tell them to make a hybrid of jazz and pop.

One listen to the band's self-titled debut EP, however, shows that there's nothing to be worried about. In fact, it reveals that Bent By Elephants are the rarest of things: a musical collective that specializes in restraint. Rather than trying to cram every song with as many contributions as possible, the band -- led incredibly well by Luke Fowlie and Chesley Walsh -- instead crafts each song around Walsh's delicate vocals. The results are spectacularly intricate, as demonstrated by tracks like "Losing Game" and "Mollie's Song". I'd almost compare the band to Ohbijou...except I'm a far bigger fan of BBE than I am of either Beacons or Swift Feet for Troubling Times. While Bent By Elephants are quiet and gentle, I can't say that I ever find them boring.

In fact, if I'm going to be honest, I really should've written about their debut EP twice before -- once back in September, when they first sent it to me, and then again in late December, when I was putting together my Best albums of 2009 post. Their EP is a stunning achievement, and it deserves all sorts of praise. - I Heart Music Blog

This may come as a shock to a lot of you, but I’ve got another amazing track from a Canadian indie band coming out of… wait for it… Montreal. Mollie’s Song can be found on Bent By Elephants’ self-titled EP, released on August 20th of this year. I don’t have a lot of information regarding the band, so I’m forced to fill the remainder of this post with my thoughts on the song. Usually I avoid doing this, as I believe that music is way too subjective for my thoughts to be relevant to anyone else. However, here we are. I think the coolest part of this song is the way the band uses the brass section to manipulate the mood of the song. Throughout the first half of the number, the brass seems to be quietly crying, and it adds a thick sense of despair to the song. Then, seemingly without warning (I suppose the bridge could be considered a warning), things take a turn for the better and the brass begins to rally the rest of the instruments. This rally turns into an amazing crescendo that seems to yell out “Hey Chris, things are going to be OK.”. - Bowlingstone.com

By Rachel Rain Packota

**** stars!

I figured this EP deserved a shot in my player from the instant I saw they had a track called “Saskatchewan Pool.” (Okay, you got me; I’m a sucker for Canadian prairie references in albums. Now you know. Bombard me with your best recordings!)

By excellent fate though, I discovered they were not a one-trick-pony sort of band. Thank God. With all the Broken-Arcade-Voices-From-The-Montreal-Wearing-Scarves groups out there it’s a relief to hear one that knows how to weave instrumentation, dipping in and out of the melody with the best harmonies available.

BBE are quiet and understated. You won’t be hit over the head by the songs but you’ll be tugged, twitched, and cajoled into their stream of things, and then before you know it you’re off and away. “Victor,” a sunny road-trip sort of diddy, surprises with a soft, violin-centric verse before a slapping guitar-and-cymbal dance interrupts during the chorus, then it all veers off the highway and into the wild grasses of adjacent off-roads.

“I thought love was a losing game,” sings Chesley Walsh in “Losing Game,” “…but still I’m soft when I think of you.” Her voice is vulnerable but lithe, tumbling like an acrobat over the nimble cymbals and brass. I love how she can make it stand in the foreground, or move as yet another instrument in the collective; she wields such effortless control that I am silenced into admiration.

Bent By Elephants has only offered us a taste with this 6-song EP so fertile with concepts and talent. A full-length album might be the perfect vehicle to properly show off their clever musical enclave. - Luicidforge.com

Another bold entry from the always interesting Montreal scene, Bent By Elephants make some wonderfully skewed indy rock. Formed out of members of the McGill conservatory school, BBE do not have the typical sound of classically trained musicians. Vocalist Chesley Walsh has the timbre of a jazz vocalist like Nellie McKay at times, with the fragile underpinnings of an indy pop chanteuse like Chan Marshall. The rest of the band back her up with some minimalist guitar and bass, some understated brass and the occassional set of handclaps. The music is perfectly suited for a small room or a basement jam session. There's only six songs on the EP, but all of them are great and show promise of much more. If a full-length is coming, it should be stellar, if these first few songs are any indication.

By Steve Marlow
Aug 12, 2009 - Earshot! Magazine

I have a mild obsession with songs featuring hand claps. Perhaps its because I know I can participate (as I can't play a real instrument and only sing in the shower), or maybe its some weird form of nostalgia stemming from childhood. Regardless, from Buddy Holly's "Every Day" to Outkast's "Hey Ya" there's a special place in my heart for these songs.

The latest addition is Montreal/Toronto's Bent By Elephants and their song "Wrecker in the Dark" Chesley Walsh's beautiful voice carries over the collection of claps and sweet harmonies. It's the gorgeous simplicity that draws me in and finds me clapping along at my desk.

--by Lana Gray - CBC radio 3

For their first EP, of just six songs, a pat on the back is in order for Bent by Elephants, a folk six-piece from Montreal. Each song is as beautifully laid out as the one next to it, so the whole proves equally strong. The songs detail real stories, and it's the down-to-earth, willing-to-explain-almost-anything qualities that lie in both the music and the lyrics that warrant attention. Currently featuring Chesley Walsh (vocals), Luke Fowlie (guitar), Ryan Frizell (trumpet), Alex Whyte (guitar, trombone, vocals), Paul VanDyk (upright bass) and newest member Charlotte Cornfield (drums), this band are, for the most part, comprised of classically trained musicians. They brought together learned and honed talents that created sweeping, warm, explorative tunes of lost encounters, close ties and a love for Canada. There is nothing on this EP that doesn't fit with something else, and there is a good amount of variation in solo efforts on it to boot. Walsh's vocals are uplifting, while each instrument finds elements of shy or brash to work with. It's almost cautionary that this is their first try.

I feel like a lot of the songs are based on certain people. Are they real?
Walsh: Yeah, most of them are. "Victor" is about this guy named Victor who I met when I was going on a road trip down the West Coast two summers ago. I'm from Los Angeles, originally. I was travelling along visiting friends and family that were kind of dispersed along the West Coast, kind of hitch-hiking and taking busses and ride shares and stuff down the way and I met this guy Victor. Somehow both of us got stranded in Sacramento together because our rides ditched us. He had this very specific kind of spiritual live-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude that I dug a lot. I have no idea how to get in touch with him.

What about the other songs?
Fowlie: [For "Saskatchewan Pool"] I was at a cottage with family. I've been going there forever. Once there was a tornado when I was there by myself and I thought it was a very romantic songwriting story. When all the lights went out, I was sitting there by candlelight writing.

Walsh: I felt that when I listened to it, and he told me about it. I wrote the lyrics about a similar experience I had had in the mountains in California and basically, I had an amazing time with this one person and then it passed and I haven't seen them in forever. Actually, come to think of it, most of the songs I feel like are about people that I knew for brief periods of time and then haven't been in contact with. I think that would be the idea for that song; we weren't really thinking about the outcome of it. It's kind of about time passing and observing a moment or the space around you in particular.

The EP also sounds like it would do really well on a movie soundtrack to me.
Walsh: Yeah, man! I've always said that about the way Luke writes songs, I always said that Luke should go into film, and I think we're both interested in that in our own way.

What kind of film would you like to be on?
Fowlie: I've seen some really good documentaries. There's this one about [artist] Andy Goldsworthy that a guitarist played all the songs for. I really like that kind of thing. It's appropriate. (Independent)

--Jessica Lewis - Exclaim Magazine

http://www.midnightpoutine.ca/weekend_playlist_podcast/2009/08/the_midnight_poutine_podcast-_aug_19-29_2009/ - Midnight Poutine