Elephant Tree & Lowrider – The Long Forever

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · November 6, 2024

My anticipation for the release of this album was pretty substantial. I have been a huge Lowrider fan since the late nineties when the band did the 1999 Nebula/Lowrider Double EP Split. That being my introduction to Lowrider, it was their masterpiece debut, 2000’s Ode To IO album that had me forever hooked. They were my gateway band into the whole Swedish rock culture that houses some of the finest stoner/ riff rock bands in existence today. I still feel that Ode To IO (originally released on Meteor City Records) is a landmark record and one of the greatest debut full length albums from any band. However, we only had to wait twenty years for their follow up, 2020’s Refractions to come out. The band produced another killer album with Refractions (released on Blues Funeral Recordings) and didn’t lose a step in song crafting skills but in fact, expanded on them. So when it was announced several months ago that they were releasing new material, I was super excited. The band consists of: Peder Bergstrand on bass and vocals, Ola Hellquist on lead guitar and vocals, Niclas Stålfors on guitar, and Andreas Eriksson on the drums.

The Long Forever is a split release featuring the first four tracks from Lowrider and the following three songs from Elephant Tree. The album title was inspired by Elephant Tree’s Jack Townley’s near fatal bike crash in 2023. He spent three months in the hospital and The Long Forever was based on that experience, being in a coma, and the whole process of recovery. The record was officially released on October 25th 2024, on Blues Funeral Recordings.

The album begins with Lowrider’s “And The Horse You Rode In On”. The just under three minute rocker is awesome! It’s has all the great elements of a straight up Lowrider tune. The song starts with a nice warm distorted bass riff that cranks into the main rhythm. The fuzzy guitar sounds are complimented with the heavy and thunderous drumming. Peder Bergstrand’s excellent voice and vocal melodies tie it all together. This is a no frills and riff rocking song that sets the stage for the rest of the Lowrider songs. “Caldera” begins with clean guitars and some spacy background feedback that crushes into a heavy beat down. Andreas Eriksson pounds the hell out of the drums and the cool, almost progy-ish riffing is wonderful. Bergstrand’s vocals have a nice lush essence to them and the band really takes this song on a musical journey. The almost ten minute sonic opus is an expansive head trip of dynamic variances. It’s in the same wheelhouse as “Pipe Rider” was from the Refractions album. Lowrider explore psychedelic rock and extrapolate areas of atmospheric and heavy riff rock, and blend it all together. I love the diversity of their songs, especially when they go from a catchy, hook driven opener to a majestic musical experience like “Caldera”. The band is on a different level than most bands today.

The third track “Into The Grey” starts with the bass again and has a nice groove about it. The onslaught of excellent riffs are abundant here also. Lowrider are masters of their craft and they really deliver the goods on these four songs. “Into The Grey” charters a lot of territory like “Caldera” and the band gets into a cool jam after the guitar solo on this song. Musically speaking, they are all fantastic musicians who really play off of one another in the most eloquent way. Finally “Through The Rift” (a collaboration with Elephant Tree) closes out Lowrider’s batch of songs. It has a nice flowing and engaging groove to it that is further enhanced by Bergstrand’s singing. I can’t say enough good things about these four songs and Lowrider in particular. “The long forever” wait before each of their recordings is at least backed up by such masterful and well crafted songs, in the highest of musical quality.

The second half of the record features Elephant Tree. They are based in England and consists of: Jack Townley on guitar and vocals, Peter Holland on bass and vocals, Riley MacIntyre on sitar and vocals, and Sam Hart on drums and percussion. The band formed in late 2013 and released 2014’s Theia and 2016’s Self Titled both on Magnetic Eye Records, and 2020’s Habits on Holy Roar Records.

Their first song is called “Fucked In Head”, a nearly nine and a half minute composition. The track begins with some psychedelic synthesized sounds, akin to classic 35007, and then transcends into a heavy and dirge type of rhythm. The music is almost haunting especially when the vocals enter. The simplicity and direction of the song is repetitive, yet intoxicating. Elephant Tree utilize some noisy guitar leads and the atmospheric backdrop of the whole song is quite mesmerizing. This one took me several listens to fully appreciate, especially after Lowrider’s tunes, but it’s got a hypnotizing essence that is quite captivating.

The second song “4 For 2” is a little more direct from the start and I do appreciate the heavy plodding riffing accompanied by the spacy background sounds. The vocals have a good chill vibe about them too that works well with the music. Finally, the band’s third track (a collaboration with Lowrider) and the last one on the album, is the title track, “The Long Forever”. It has a nice driving rhythm that carries the song with a flow throughout. They incorporate some heavy accents towards the ending with psychedelic twisty leads. The final beeps at the end could signify Jack Townley’s life support in the hospital bed which really accentuates the presence and feeling of this record.

These songs are my first real exposure to Elephant Tree’s music. I’ve dabbled into their other material but nothing really connected with me in those times, if I’m being honest. However, continuing exposure to their songs are starting to manifest within me. Given the right headspace and mood, I could see myself immersed in the Elephant Tree sound. Overall, this is a fantastic album that I will be listening to over and over. I could see this being in many top year end spots, especially if you equally love both bands. Blues Funeral has released another monumental album that will surely stand the test of time.