Much like Iron & Wine is synonymous with project leader Samuel Beam and Bon Iver is with Justin Vernon, Elephant Micah is with Joseph O’Connell. For over ten years, O’Connell has been recording mostly at home under the moniker, striking a chord with many listeners but not as large a fan base as Iron & Wine or Bon Iver. That may not change with Elephant Micah’s new EPLouder Than Thou released through O’Connell’s own label, Product of Palmyra, but it’s likely to spark interest and turn some heads previously unaware of O’Connell’s talent.
Louder Than Thou implies a booming sound, but it’s mostly a quiet, acoustic affair. Though Elephant Micah is largely O’Connell’s solo project, many of his friends round out the band with additional instrumentation – some guitar strumming, light percussion, occasional keyboards and saxophone – and though they’re never loud sonically, the songs’ messages speak high volumes. O’Connell’s songs deal in somber metaphors and pained reflections on choices made. Even when the songs take upbeat turns as in “My Cousin’s King”, thematically it remains tragic. On “If I Were A Surfer”, O’Connell sings, Let the old rhythm end / I’ll start all over again as he laments choices he’s made.
