Look up epic in the dictionary, and there will surely be a smouldering hole there. The hole will have been made by Young Elk’s red-hot Silver Bullet.
The first single from the Portland, Oregon quartet’s forthcoming third album, this is a widescreen, epic, indie/alt-rock masterpiece. It feels hopeful and purposeful. It feels bright, but at the same time, it has an undeniably dark, almost pitch-black undercurrent. Our friends at Rue Defense have really outdone themselves with this one.
Lyrically, the song explores a huge subject – the relationship between mother and child – and the impact each has on the other. In the words of the band: “it investigates how codependence and control often become a quick fix, a silver bullet, just some medicine to make the pain go away. However, we all know it never works like that, and if a mother has not done work on herself, that medicine becomes poison for everyone involved.”
Conceptually, it’s one of the most ambitious things we’ve heard in ages – it almost feels like a breath of fresh air and protracted asphyxiation, all at once.
With a touch of Queens Of The Stone Age-style riffage, the atmosphere of Low at their most overblown, Nick Cave levels of grandiosity and a decent slice of the musicality of acts ranging from Hope Of The States to …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – this is quite the combination, and it certainly bodes well for album number three.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
