Make sure your turntables, digital music players, and speakers can with stand the force of a pachyderm because ElephantProof is stomping into the limelight this summer with its debut, self-titled album—out on streaming platforms today, Friday, July 30th—and a slot at Goose‘s upcoming Fred The Festival.
The Boston-bred quartet, poised to make its big return to the scene, is made up of guitarist Sean Cronin, bassist Shon Gordon, keyboardist Chris Enright, and drummer Ben Atkind, who has made quite a name for himself of late with his work behind the drum kit for Goose.
Atkind is not the only member of ElephantProof who shares some musical DNA with Goose as we know it today. Enright also served some time as the keyboardist for the CT-based act; his work played an integral role in the early development of the band’s sound and creation of its first studio album, 2016’s Moon Cabin. Cronin, meanwhile, is a standout guitarist himself—one who Atkind is quick to label “one of the best guitarists [he’s] ever played with,” along with Goose’s Rick Mitarotonda.
ElephantProof provides funky grooves, hard hitting rhythms, heavy rock and roll stylings, and dark and dirty jams at house parties and club gigs opening for stalwarts like Twiddle, Dopapod, and The Nth Power in Boston circa 2015. But after beginning to generate some buzz in the Boston jam scene, the band put most of its recording and gigging on hold as other projects and life in general began to get in the way.
Despite the time away, Atkind says, ElephantProof remains a passion project for him and his bandmates. Breaking years of silence, ElephantProof recently put out its first single in years, the multi-part dance-funk-fusion voyage “Hyphy”. The track provides a glimpse into Cronin’s eclectic guitar style, Gordon’s shape-shifting bass tone, and Enright’s inter-dimensional synth work, all anchored by Atkind’s airtight beat.
Later this summer, following the release of ElephantProof, the quartet will return to the stage for the first time in years for a late-night set on the opening night of Goose’s Fred The Festival on August 20th–22nd. One of three artist-focused events set to take place at the LOCKN’ Farm in Arrington, VA this summer, Fred The Festival will feature plenty of Goose alongside various auxiliary projects featuring members of the band including ElephantProof, Vasudo, and the aGOOSEtic Trio.
The band predicts that the late-night set will be the perfect platform to debut its dance-inducing style. Sean notes that he “couldn’t be more excited” to get back out with the foursome and “put this music out into the world.” After the long hiatus, Sean feels he “owes it to us” to make sure this music is heard. Listen to the full album below.
ElephantProof – EP EP – Full Album
For updates about ElephantProof, the new album, and more, follow the band here.
For tickets to see ElephantProof perform live at Fred The Festival, head here.