So what do you get when one of the most sought after sitar session players in the psychedelic music scene sets out to start his own band?

Title: Elephant Stone
Artist: Elephant Stone
Label: Independent
Time: 10 tracks/39:33 min.

So what do you get when one of the most sought after sitar session players in the psychedelic music scene sets out to start his own band? Long trippy sitar jams? Well, in the case of Rishi Dhir – who just also so happens to be a bassist and songwriter – you actually get some trippy, catchy rock that plays in the same musical sandbox as Kula Shaker. You can feel the 70s influence all over this – not disco 70s, but psychedelic 70s. The sitar and raga influence is very subtle in most songs. If you are familiar with Indian song structures you will recognize them, otherwise you might just see them as cool percussion or instrumentation ideas. Personally I would have liked to see a few more songs with the sitar up front and center like “Sally Go Round The Sun” or “The Sea Of Your Mind.” But I honestly like all of the other songs so much that I can’t say I would remove any of them. Just maybe added a couple more sitar jams to the 10 songs that are already there. But maybe that is just my love of sitar talking. All in all, this is very cohesive, well-crafted, original album that just flat out rocks. I will be looking to get the vinyl version when it comes out.

By Matt Crosslin
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