Elephant Stone, Frankie & The Witch Fingers, Shadowgraphs, Pete International Airport
Elephant Stone catalyst Rishi Dhir is a silky-voiced psych-rock classicist, a studious disciple of the mellow, fluid end of the genre's spectrum, circa 1967-1969. His band's self-titled 2013 album wears its Byrds and Revolver/Sgt. Pepper's-era Beatles worship prominently, with "A Silent Moment," exemplifying the latter with its "Rain" meets "Within You Without You" moves. "The Sea of Your Mind" reveals the group at their most expansive and outré; one wishes they went to that extreme more often. If you're a sucker for sitars and tablas (and why wouldn't you be?), you should enjoy Elephant Stone's tasteful use of them.
by Dave Segal