Elephant Jake - “Randy Wheeler”
Elephant Jake
If you enjoy twinkle-emo, math rock, or emo-revival tunes, you’ll probably have a great time listening to “Randy Wheeler”
Self-described “Philadelphia Based Indie Rock Collective'' Elephant Jake released their twinkly new single “Randy Wheeler '' earlier this month. The track, which comes in at a cool four minutes and fourteen seconds, masterfully blends booming power-pop chord progressions with mathy guitar riffs to create a bouncy track that feels right at home with the emo-revival sound of the early to mid 2010s.
“Randy Wheeler” begins with rapid-fire riffing that seems to be pulled straight from an Algernon Cadwallader album, along with a pounding snare to drive the song forward. After some layered chords and a snare build, the band relaxes a bit to make room for the vocals of the first verse, which loudly proclaim that “Randy’s got an opinion and I think that I disagree!” At first the lyrics wax melancholy, with lines like “I’ve been watching people around me working till they die,” and “I’m drowning at the bottom of the ocean.” However, the second half of the tune takes a hopeful turn, instructing the listener to “take my hand” and stating that “it don’t matter, we’ll be fine.”
Instrumentation on this track is top-notch. The guitars on the song cover a wide range of bases, with twinkly emo riffage, resounding open chords, percussive muted-string scratches, and math rock inspired tapping sections. The drummer does an incredible job of propelling the song by combining tried-and-true punk-rock beats with intricate, technical fills without overwhelming the rest of the band. The bass on the track booms in the background, giving the song the low-end punch that any rock tune needs in order to be effective.
If you enjoy twinkle-emo, math rock, or emo-revival tunes, you’ll probably have a great time listening to “Randy Wheeler”. With this track, Elephant Jake continues, along with other acts like Ben Quad, Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly, and Carly Cosgrove, to bring sparkly sounds to the fifth wave of emo.
Check out Elephant Jake here!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1U4QJplzw91yb7xkf07Df5?si=7I2OQnOoRvuwzYXNYwQGww
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/elephant-jake/1211220455