Live Review: Elephant Stone - Moth Club, London 26/05/2017

Elephant Stone are a Canadian indie rock band who are best known for their ability to incorporate traditional Indian instruments into psychedelic rock. I know you're dubious, but trust me. It works. Think Tame Impala, but crossed with The Beatles in their Lucy In The Sky... era. Add in a few cheeky sitar solos and you're on to a winner.

The Moth Club in Hackney masks itself as a small, inoffensive pub. However, the venue room is glittery and flamboyant, kind of like an old dance hall but with gold glitter ceilings. Fabulous.

The venue wasn't full to start with, however I got chatting to a guy from Berlin who said he came over just to see Elephant Stone perform, which opened my eyes to their popularity in Europe. I felt embarrassed to admit that I'd only recent listened to their material, although I was particularly looking forward to the set as I've previously heard their cover of L.A Woman by The Doors and loved it.

Once the set began everyone had surged to the front of the room. Elephant Stone have been going since around 2009, so they appear to have built quite a fan base. After about the third song, the lead singer introduced a sitar to the set, which was very different from anything I've heard before. The crowd were initially subdued until this appearance, and then they went wild for it. The Sitar acted as some type of drug that just enticed people into throwing their limbs around and entering some psychedelic trance. And I loved every minute.

From that point onwards, the set built from strength to strength, and looking back, I feel as though the first few songs could have been missed, as they were drowned out by the songs in the latter part of the set. Judging by everyone's response, this opinion was shared, however this could also be due to more and more beer. Who knows. Nonetheless, I reveled in the psychedelic vibe and awed over Elephant Stone's interwoven perfection of East meets West.

Words by Charlotte McHale