Slowly, Great Elk’s songs creep from a position of distance and unfamiliarity to a timeless groove, like something your parents would play on the first cold day of fall. Starting out sparse and confused, Vocalist Paul Basile carries the band as they gently layer their sound, adding minimalist drum and bass, with an ever-weeping pedal steel guitar. Bryan Trenis’s dramatic keyboards and, “approximate vegetarianism,” help to portray the lonesome yet confident quality of Great Elk’s sound. They have self- released two EP’s, handing out limited editions to lucky show-goers this past February, and are currently on tour in Portland, Oregon, but will soon return to their home of Brooklyn.
