If we were still in the Myspace era with its penchant for musical mashups and and niche genres and all things “extreme” Elephant Jake's Myspace page probably would described them as a melodic hardcore / emo pop punk / indie rock band so extreme they don’t just wear their collective heart on their collective sleeve…

…but instead rip that collective heart out of their collective chest and with it still beating and steaming just like in that notorious scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (good flick for for kids!) and then take a Bedazzler and a glue gun and transform the bloody organ into a gore-laden sparkly brooch and pin it to their gaping thoracic cavity for all the world to see because that's what Elephant Jake's music feels like with its mash up of lovely aching melodies and serrated musical textures and heart-rending lyrics...

…which could be a thing even today in the current TikTok age—call it the Bloody Beating Heart Extraction Brooch Making Challenge—an epistemological state established right off the bat by Elephant Jake on their first song (“Feelings About Feelings”) from their first album (We’re Movies) thus setting the template for a repertoire full of soul-baring songs about bad relationships and general aimlessness but put across in such a life-affirming, energetic fashion that there’s a sense of transcendence springing from all the emotional turmoil as if the songs are a form of Jungian musical therapy…                

…but none of that's necessary to enjoy Elephant Jake’s new single “Locked In” which in the span of less than two minutes moves from tense, minimalist post-punky guitars and declamatory, detuned vocals to a towering wall-of-sound of wailing guitars and keening voices brought to a swift end by a volley of drum fills and a quick fadeout with the song's lyrics adhering to the band’s conversational and observational tone but adding a strong dose of sociological commentary (namely, working-class entrapment or so it would seem) to the relationship woes…

…so check it out if so inclined and finally when it comes to biography details about the band I don’t got much to offer except to point out that Elephant Jake hail from Orange County, New York which I didn't even know was a place outside of America’s armpit state...

...but when it comes to Elephant Jake's current locational status there's more uncertainly (fitting for this band!) with their Bandcamp page showing them to reside in New York City while their Twitter account puts them in Philadelphia, PA so we're just gonna go ahead and say “touché” and “well played” because as a result this entry is posted on both the Philly and NYC Deli pages which means double the pleasure and double the fun. (Jason Lee)