Eat the Elephant
The piano changes the emotional temperature of Eat the Elephant. A Perfect Circle allow it to carry much of the album's weight, creating a more reflective setting for Maynard James Keenan's observations. The result is a thoughtful record whose impact depends on the strength of its melodies as much as the force of its complaints.
The title track establishes that smaller scale with soft drums and a measured vocal. Disillusioned is similarly patient, letting its concern with distraction emerge through a spacious arrangement. These songs ask the listener to come closer. Their quietness has a purpose, even when the slow pace makes the opening sequence feel less sharply defined than it could be.
The Doomed gives the record a clearer dramatic focus. Its marching movement and heavier attack put an edge beneath Keenan's controlled delivery, making the judgement in the words feel more immediate. TalkTalk also benefits from a firmer guitar presence. The intensity is effective because it cuts through an atmosphere the album has already established.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is a more surprising success. Its bright melodic surface gives the apocalyptic humour an uncomfortable lift. The tune is inviting enough for the bleakness to arrive almost as an afterthought, and that mismatch gives the song its character. The record could use more moments with such an individual identity.
Some of the surrounding material is harder to hold on to. Delicious has a recognisable mood without a comparably memorable melodic outline, and the repeated restraint in Keenan's voice can make distinct subjects feel emotionally similar. The arrangements contain subtleties, but a detail does not always become a reason to return to the song.
Get the Lead Out ends with electronics and an unsettled pulse, extending the album's willingness to move beyond its familiar guitar sound. Eat the Elephant deserves credit for that curiosity. Its best tracks turn a calmer musical language into pointed expression, particularly The Doomed and So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. Across the full sequence, though, the distance in the performance sometimes keeps the listener outside feelings the songs are trying to bring into view.
