Two Guys...One Great Album...El Ten Eleven...

No matter what critics say, instrumental music reigns supreme. No other music seems to hit so directly with listeners than instrumental music. Laugh all you want, go ahead, put your coffee down and laugh; but it’s a stroke of absolute genius in these days of crowded blogs, music reviews, and 24 hr news stations on 300 channels to not say a thing, to keep quiet and let the instruments do the talking. Bands that choose to fill their songs with so much trite shit are only doing so because the songs they’ve created demand such structure. Instrumental bands crack open any and all structure and push it aside, choosing to forge ahead in the face of not only minimal appreciation, but music mockery.

On their self-titled debut, El Ten Eleven does exactly this and the talking is left up to a doubleneck guitar/bass combo filtered through a colossal number of pedals and a drummer who keeps the beat on both the acoustic and electronic front.



“My Only Swerving” immediately creates an image of movement and travelling. From the start, El T en Eleven concocts visions of road trips with the ones you love or else road trips to escape the ones that don’t love you. Regardless, the music is all movement and point of views obscured by clouds. ‘Central Nervous Piston’ combines a stacked drum beat with some lightsaber-esque phaser bass notes. ‘Connie’ grows and swells into a gorgeous collection of looped beats, fierce drumming, and just the absolute essence of groove.

Kristian Dunn uses the doubleneck like a certified chainsaw. Notes resonate from his chosen instrument like rain drops of heaven. Using pedals to their full advantage, Dunn skillfully works his way through the fret board, tapping harmonics, looping them, starting notes, and stopping them. “Fanshawe” opens with looped harmonics before a low end beat stomps its way onto the dance floor. All the while the acoustic and electric drums of Tim Fogarty keep a steady, rolling beat. Whether it be acoustic or electronic, the drumming is straight enough to keep the beat to, but adventurous enough to warrant equal praise.

If you’re in for a life change and need the final kick, buy this album. Instrumental bands like El Ten Eleven provide the ultimate solutions without saying a god damn thing. Stripped clear of adverbs, nouns, and ‘you’, the music goes directly to the listener’s soul without passing through the brain to translate all the shit about love, girlfriends, and life changes. The music is the life change; it provides the message because the listener is forced to hear their own message. El Ten Eleven’s musical freedom will allow you your own freedom and what more could you ask for in an album.



Review By Indieworkshop

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