Album Review: Elan – Elan Vs Elan (APF Records)

Elan is the brainchild of Shane Miller (frontman of A Horse Called War & William English) and Joseph Woodbury (William English & Armed with Books). The duo, hailing from Norwich, UK, proudly conjure their own brand of chaotic, distorted, and unrelenting sound. Shane handles vocals, guitars, and bass, while Joe pounds the drums into submission. APF Record will release Elan’s debut album, ‘Elan Vs Elan’, on April 25th, 2025.

It’s time for some sludgy noise rock, Elan style, whatever the f**k that means. All I know is that it results in an eight-track album that comes with heft, filthy sounding heft. Gleefully heavy, and remarkably harsh, there’s a real sense that Elan are out to please no-one but themselves, and that is acutely evident via the opening track, Two Angry Men. A showcase of their instrumental power, utilising a sound clip from the movie, 12 Angry Men.

It’s cool, not the most interesting of starts, but creative enough. Whereas Behind this Place is simply outstanding, incredibly heavy and obnoxiously noisy, it’s a chuggy assault on the senses. Note the Mulholland Drive inspired lyrics, it won’t be the last time David Lynch crops up here. In fact, the next track, Don’t Talk Turkey uses script lines from David Lynch’s ‘What Did Jack Do?’. It’s also quite different to what it’s surrounded by, being a manic slice of weirdness that barely es the two-minute mark.

There’s plenty more weird to come too, and one of the albums best efforts, Peaks (thematically tied to Twin Peaks), delivers plenty of peculiarities alongside some of the nastiest and noisiest heavy sounds so far. Elan at their most creative, even if something more explosive like To Kill A Gull delivers all kinds of enjoyable chaos too. The vocals on the latter are so good.

Speaking of vocals, it’s cool to hear both Shane and Joe on vocals on My English Tongue, and they share the space well. It helps that this is a track inspired by something as atmospheric as The Witch, even if their approach here is more aggressive and intense. It’s one of the album’s rawest sounding tracks.

Finally, it’s Less Stable Readers and Advocate Cannibalism, with the former having some brutalising breakdowns that give it a hardcore flavour, but blend that with a blackened edge. Whereas the latter uses sound clips and lyrics from Pink Flamingos, which should clue you in to how menacing a finale this is.

It’s long, ing the six and a half minute mark, and you’ll feel it, but that doesn’t mean it’s unenjoyable. It’s just a truly disturbing way for things to end, but isn’t that just the summation of Elan as a whole? A disturbing band with a disturbing record. Can you handle it?

Elan – Elan Vs Elan Track Listing:

1. Two Angry Men
2. Behind This Place
3. Don’t Talk Turkey
4. Peaks
5. To Kill A Gull
6. My English Tongue
7. Less Stable Readers
8. Advocate Cannibalism

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | APF Records