Ed Harcourt - 'Elephant's Graveyard' (Heavenly) Released 08/08/05

 

Thankfully, ‘I’ve Become Misguided’ kicks things into place - it’s edgy with full on guitar riffs and strong sound. And ‘Alligator Boy’- it’s like a completely different band! Where the fuck did such a good song come from? This blues based number is a gem and the full on energy nearly hits you and doesn’t reduces you to tears. Out of the remaining twenty-two songs there are only a few worth mentioning. Between more doses of unadulterated misery and, at points boredom (‘Sleepyhead’ deserves a special acknowledgement here), there's the odd entertaining number. ‘Little Silver Bullet’ is a pop/country style one that puts a stupid grin on yer face, and ‘Blackwoods Back Home’ would be perfect for one of those Scooby-Doo chase scenes!

 

Elsewhere, ‘She Put A Curse On Me (Parts 1&2)’ is a technically brilliant song. It splices two songs together and sounds perfectly strange and wonderful, but the thing is it’s too long and you’re likely to become bored before the song is out. Shame. ‘Sugarbomb’ sees Ed Harcourt take on a long forgotten energy with this more rock sounding number; a great jump around / dance to track. This is the kind of stuff he should have stuck to thirteen songs ago. Not forgetting his nice cover of Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City’, the last decent song.

 

‘Elephant’s Graveyard’ is an album that should be left for dead and buried. With only a handful of songs that won’t drive you to suicide it’s a boring and miserable listen. Even Ed Harcourt’s die-hard fans won’t be paying their respects to this.