Elvis Depressedly are an indie rock band from North Carolina who formed only four years back in 2011. Frontman Mat Cothran may be better known as the lead singer and founding member of indie pop group Coma Cinema, with whom he's released five albums.
With New Alhambra, Elvis Depressedly stay close to the style of music that fans of the band are familiar with, as the group churns out depressing track after depressing track on this LP; which at 21 minutes is just long enough to qualify as an actual album.
The star of the album is without a doubt Cothran, who's whisper-like vocals create a great deal of sadness to go along with the very (surprise) depressing themes that are covered throughout this project. Cothran also does a great job with his song writing, as he's able to match lines like those you would find on an early 2000's emo record on tracks such as Ease yet also use clever word play and social commentary on tracks like Rock n' Roll which contains some of my favourite lyrics from the album: "Jesus died up on the cross, so I could quit my job."
My biggest complaint with the project is easily the short run time. While an album under 30 minutes can certainly still be a masterpiece (see Nick Drake's Pink Moon for proof) I feel like Elvis Depressedly were holding back a little bit with so many songs that fail to even meet the two and a half minute mark. While it certainly does help at conveying the band's image of "not caring," it seems a little ironic considering how much effort they put into the self-loathing on many of these tracks.
To my surprise, my favorite song on the record is actually the shortest, as Wastes of Time is only a mere minute and a half. However, the band does a great a job with the acoustic song, as it combines an optimistic viewpoint on love, with a look at the sad state of the world.
This record is certainly worth the listen to anyone who enjoys lo-fi indie rock, and at only 21 minutes at length, it's almost too easy to get through in one sitting.
Rating: B+
Favorite Songs: N.M.S.S, Rock n' Roll, New Heaven New Earth, Wastes of Time
Least Favorite Songs: None
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