Does the name sound familiar? If you were at Warringtons Music Fest in June this year it should be , as they played a short, yet very entertaining set and stirred the crowd from a bit of a mid-afternoon slumber.
So who are Muddy Elephant?
Following a sold-out gig at Telford Warehouse in Chester I caught up with them for a chat at the Cheesefields Festival in Latchford. Muddy Elephant are Sam on lead vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Warrington born Carlos on Lead Guitar, Matt on Bass and Harry on drums. The band officially formed in 2019 but the seeds were sown some years before when frontman Sam and Matt studied GCSE music together at school.
Describing their music genre as Indie/Rock with a sprinkling of pop, the band released their first single ‘Alice’ in 2019 and this D.I.Y recording relates to Alice Morgan, played by Ruth Wilson in the detective series ‘ Luther’ . Alice has murdered her parents (and their dog) – in such a calculated fashion, that not even Luther is able to prove her guilt, of which he is absolutely certain. Quite a macabre subject to write about but it shows the level of thought that frontman Sam invests into his lyrics and was perhaps, an indication of what was to follow in subsequent years.When you hear the band play ‘Alice’ in a live setting now in 2023 it demonstrates how the band have matured, it is a more complete and polished sound.
2020 was a busy time for the band, they released their second single ‘Helter Skelter’ – a fast ‘Spandau Ballet’ sounding song with very strong vocals from Sam and lyrics that reflect another Groundhog day- that recurring situation in which events that have happened before happen again, in what seems to be exactly the same way, the 9 to 5 of daily life. See what you think of it here;
‘Helter Skelter’ was closely followed by ‘Tusk’ and it is here that Muddy Elephant’s signature sound was being firmly established – fast tempo from a very tight rhythm section , driving- jangling guitars , excellent lead vocals again and solid backing vocals from Matt. My mention of “the reason for the lyrics of Tusk?” was the only time I had witnessed Sam break from his jovial and relaxed demeanour as he alluded to the Ivory trade in this song, and the lifting of the ban by Donald Trump , something he is clearly very passionate about. You can view the You Tube lyrics video here:
Quickly moving on to their fourth release ‘When in Rome’ in 2021- this is an easy going ‘Summery’ sound, a nod to Indy Pop with occasional Viola Beach chords which are now difficult to avoid in this genre of music. When you go to see the band expect them to invite you to join in the chorus as this is a feel-good singalong song , it’s not hard , even for the mature reader! Again, and through the power of You Tube , the lads can be seen enjoying themselves in this very well produced video which is a pleasure to watch;
Finally, this year the band released ‘Lonely’ and although you will only find the acoustic video of this on You Tube at the moment , they are working on the new video for release soon. In the meantime why not check out the track on Spotify for the ultimate audio experience of the band in their latest and final guise (with new drummer Harry ). ‘Lonely’ was another track recorded at Gareth Nuttall’s – The Lounge Recording Studio in Wigan, who also produced The Lottery Winners and Frank Turner , and what an excellent job he has done . You can hear the progress and development in a band that has settled down nicely .Witness the clever transition in tempo and dynamics between verse and chorus with riffs that border on Foo Fighters and as usual – superb, resonant vocals high in the mix.
Just for a laugh I asked ” do you actually play anything slow?” and surprisingly they are planning something this year, but for now the band content themselves with a few covers to change the set tempo and I can vouch they do it very well , especially ‘Mardy Bum’ by the Arctic Monkeys. With more and more gigs planned for the remainder of the year it would be a complete travesty if these likeable lads didn’t get more recognition from the record industry and an even bigger fan base. However, with their usual modesty Matt states their aim is to play full time , get noticed and do more festivals and if a deal comes their way so be it . For now they just love to play and they are certainly doing that this summer, they are an excellent and entertaining outfit who are working very hard and music lovers should catch them quickly and tell me I’m not biased!
Readers can check out the band and follow them on any of the usual platforms:
Website: http://www.muddyelephantband.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/muddyelephantmusic
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/muddyelephant
Twitter – https://twitter.com/ElephantMuddy
Spotify – search Muddy Elephant
Leave a Reply