elbowsway’s EP, “common sense,” lives in the ‘gray space’ of urban stagnation, pairing the exhaustion of burnout with surrealist horror. It moves through the claustrophobia of isolation, Lynchian nightmares, and foggy, psychological landscapes. Sonically and visually, elbowsway captures the bluntness of everyday survival against a backdrop of supernatural decay, looking at ‘the end’ as a clear-eyed, terrifying realization.
Elbowsway is a post-shoegaze band from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, formed in 2024. Their sound blends layered guitars with alt-rock emo sounds, pulling their inspiration from bands like Nothing, trauma ray, Narrow Head, Kraus, Cloakroom and Hum.
The EP is made up of six tracks, each one around three to six minutes.
The first track, “intro”, feels like a fever dream, complete with an old-timey voice speaking about nuclear test operations, setting the tone for the EP immediately.
Track two, “common sense”, is the longest track on the EP, six minutes of the feeling of being disconnected from other people, about how people become divided and quick to get angry over things they don’t understand. The repetition of the word ‘home’ balances the connection of both comfort and imprisonment. Home is meant to be somewhere safe, but here it becomes somewhere you can never escape.
The third track, “sleep debt”, explores burnout, anxiety, feeling trapped in a cycle, and wanting more from life but not knowing how to get there. It feels more personal than the previous track, less about society as a whole and more about being frustrated with yourself and your own situation.
“trees” is the fourth track on the EP, filled with the desire to move on, to live.
I wanna make a step forward
But I only make step back
I wanna fucking feel alive
Instead I just survive
Track five, “ward”, was my favorite off the EP; it feels dark but strangely calm. The imagery of bleeding wounds and softened bones combined with the repetition of lyrics makes death feel inevitable rather than dramatic. There’s a contrast between the body falling apart and the speaker’s insistence that life is still worth clinging to.
Our wounds are bleeding
Our bones are soft
But we’re still breathing
The last track on the EP, “blunt knives”, is about being close to the end of something while still holding onto life. As the closer to the EP, this felt perfect: the eerie darkness of the lyrics followed by the appreciation for life while it lasts.
The EP was a storybook of emotion, of disconnect. There’s a common feeling of being stuck and overwhelmed. The lyrics move from social division and isolation to finally accepting that something is coming to an end. Beautifully produced and a sonic symphony, elbowsway is at the start of something amazing.
Written by Emily Stabell
