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The only 5-star album I've heard thus far this year. If Nine Inch Nails sang the Psalms and invited avant-garde jazzbos, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, to the studio, it might sound like this. - Andy Whitman, Senior Contributing Editor for PASTE magazine and regular contributor for Christianity Today
Elephants have won a contest! As a part of the Bandspotting Contest that Calvin College puts on in conjunction with their Festival and Faith and Arts, the headjudges Michael Kaufmann from Asthmatic Kitties and Andy Whitman from Paste Magazine chose my album as the winner! In their words: “...highly original...simultaneously melodic and aggressive when need be. It is rare that I hear such clearly communicated Gospel music that is soulful, articulate and adventurous.”
Christianity Today: Blood and Desperation
Aaron Strumpel returns human struggle to the Psalms. Musical settings of the Psalms have existed for as long as, well, the Psalms themselves. After all, they were the ancient Israelites' hymnbook. But in the hands of many contemporary musicians, the Psalms have been neutered, transformed into wispy, ethereal sighs and coos. The powerful drama so evident on the page—the tug of war between intense pain and fleeting hope, the wrestling with injustice and senseless death, the crying out for mercy and forgiveness—has largely been absent. Aaron Strumpel's new album, Elephants (Thirsty Dirt), intends to restore the blood and desperation.
Sensing that a new musical vocabulary was needed to reestablish the Psalter's tone and context, Strumpel employs a bevy of abrasive sounds and influences. Trumpets blat and squeal, piano chords cascade, and band members bang on anything and everything in a tribal frenzy. In "One Twenty One," Strumpel sings a litany of woes—his strength has been sapped, his back has been broken, his hands have been bloodied—before he launches into the catharsis of the psalm proper. When he finally sings, "I lift my eyes up to the mountains / From where does my help come?"—the opening words of Psalm 121—the effect is like a healing balm. "Fifty One" features a lovely ascending piano line that masks the sorrowful confession of David's words. Perhaps best of all is "In Babylon," a fairly straightforward reading of Psalm 137—a song of the homeless exiles—until it erupts, at the two-minute mark, into a chilling wail. These are groanings too deep for words. They are a stark reminder that lamentation is part and parcel of the human experience, and that the Psalms' authors were well acquainted with grief.
Elephants is not for the faint of heart, but those who are looking for solace and hope in God—another hallmark of the Psalms—will not be disappointed. This is an album that retains the disturbing picture that life is messy and full of pain and disappointment, and that hope and faith are hard-won victories. It's a stunning achievement.
-Andy Whitman, senior contributing editor for Paste magazine
RelevantMagazine.Com: In the beginning of April, Calvin College held their every-other-year Festival of Faith and Music with artists including Over the Rhine, Lupe Fiasco, and David Bazan. As part of the repertoire, one artist was chosen from thirty-nine entries in a band spotting contest to perform on the last night of the festival. This year, Aaron Strumpel (Restoration Project, Enter the Worship Circle) won the competition with entries from his upcoming Elephants album. As he and some friends took stage and started into their first song, there was no doubt in the audience's mind that the judges’ choice was spot on.
Aaron was joined by fellow Worship Circler Todd Berger along with Todd and Angie Fadel from Agents of the Future for their four song set. Right from the start, Aaron’s solid songwriting abilities was complemented by Berger and Angie's instrumentation and ignited by Todd’s physical vigor that assimilated a presence on stage that would not be forgotten even after the rest of the bands played that night. Acoustic, piano, harmony, synth, trumpet, tom drum, and a unique percussion set (which included a typewriter) rounded up like a herd of pachyderm setting forth to take you on a soulful journey. And with the strength of an Elephant, you were going to be moved whether you originally wanted to or not.
A special indulgence was hearing Aaron’s usually stripped down and acoustic "Twenty Three" (from Chair and Microphone vol. 2) with the rest of the band. Aaron said that Elephants was the result of being on the road for five years with only a guitar; creativity and angst was being built up in some ways and needed another medium to be released and expressed through. Hearing "Twenty Three" transformed showed this process, as well as the maturity of Aaron’s writing ability to take four chords and the truth and interweave simplicity and complexity into something that was already beautiful to begin with and reveal more of its character on another level.
While nothing can replace a live performance, Elephants is by no means any less exciting or musically inferior. Thanks to the layers on each of the tracks, the concert experience translates nicely into the album. The album title is fitting as most tracks are interlaced with deep drum stomps, rough-skinned backing loops and Aaron’s own trumpet. The sound is experimental, but with purpose, folk rock based but uniquely integrated with a variety of instrumentation; it carries an element of abstraction to it with soul that bleeds through the vocals.
Some tracks contain accents of industrial jazz, whether vocally ("Blow Out the Wick," "Family") or instrumentally ("In Babylon"), that do not seem to quite fit together, yet do, showing that their tempo dissonance conveys something in and of itself. "Right Through" contains some mandolin action with an Irish feel while "One Twenty One" and "Fifty One" are built off of their Psalmic name-sakes, affirming both the depth of ancient scripture and Aaron's ability to translate into something faithful and relevant. The thesis of the album seems to be found in Won't Stop with lyrics conveying God's strong, faithful love regardless of our ability and fragility (Your breath it rushes and fills my lungs / like a hurricane rushes and floods my home / You won't sit back, You never sit back / You come in close, You never hold back).
Though Elephants is full of gusto, its overarching orchestration doesn't leave you exhausted thanks to instrumental tracks ("After," "Melee," "Procession") and the more melancholy last quarter ("This Can't Last," "First Love"). It is an interesting and progressive folk rock album that refuses to be tamed and gives you something to ruminate on during and after the listening experience.
USAToday.Com: Here's a fresh reminder of the literary and musical beauty of the Bible -- no matter what, or whether, you believe...
PasteMagazine.Com calls it in the top 3 of 2009 so far! If you would have told me six months ago that one of my favorite albums of the year would be based on the Psalms, I would have told you that you don't know me very well. Long the purview of schlockmeisters and saccharine hacks, Aaron Strumpel has stolen the hymnbook of ancient Israel back for the regular folks, including folks like David (the original blues harp player) who bitch and moan and cry out in pain. This album wails. Add the tribal chanting and the horn section cribbed from avant-garde jazzbos The Art Ensemble of Chicago and you've got something very rare and special indeed.
Elephants and Condos: Every once in a while, I hear an album that gives me hope for Christian music. A few years ago it was all things by Sufjan Steven. I have not found anything that even compared to that until now. A few months ago, Aaron Strumpel, a collaborator in the Enter the Worship Circle, released a solo album called Elephants--incredible. Sensitive, Intuitive, Raw, Beautiful, and amazingly crafted, this album has been the soundtrack of one of the most interesting weeks of my life-- I just purchased my first condo, gulp. I am really struck by the emotional wealth contained in each song and the way the music started to pull out of me the paradox of feelings that were coming up in my heart. I am so thankful for the way the music gave me a structure to offer the overwhelming jumbledness I was experiencing to God and allow Him to be in it with me. Such an amzing thing, music is! Check out Elephants and let me know what you think.
Aaron Strumpel's 'Elephants' is Unforgettable: I stopped writing about Christian music full-time several years ago, mainly because I became tired of using words like "fresh," "innovative," or "inspired" for music that often wasn't. In fact, it is a rare occurrence these days when I feel the desire to sing an artist's praises loudly because I am afraid other's will miss out on discovering something special. But recently I spent most of a night listening to a CD that I think will likely be the best CD I listen to all year.
Aaron Strumpel, the recent winner of Calvin College's Bandspotting contest, has released his first self-produced effort "Elephants" and it is fresh, innovative, inspiring, electric, mesmerizing, and a list of other adjectives I am still putting together in my head
Prior to this recording, Strumpel had been featured on worship recordings such as "Enter the Worship Circle" but I was still completely in the dark as to what to expect from this solo effort. "Elephants" is an acoustic smorgasbord of spiritual musings with prophetic and operatic overtones that insist on being listened to again and again to be fully understood and appreciated. There is weeping and wailing-- literally--amidst shouts and cries of joy. The variety of instruments and their intricate arrangements on each and every song washes over the listener with dissonance that lingers hauntingly. In fact, some of the best tracks are the ones with no words like "Melee" and "Procession" where trumpets, piano, and guitar are juxtaposed against each other. Prime examples of the distinctive flavor of the album are found in Strumpel's interpretations of Psalm 23 and Psalm 51. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined a need to reinvent the Psalms with music one more time, but Strumpel brings something to those words of David that is worthy of having a place next to other original songs like "Family" and "In Babylon." Each song paints its own picture of a faithful God who never forgets his followers.
Listening to "Elephants" is water for those who are feeling dry and weary. It is also a celebration for those who are filled with joy and hope. It is the one new CD I wouldn't want anyone to miss.
JesusFreakHideOut.Com: Creating an album based on the Psalms is not a novel idea. Creating an album based on the Psalms that contains depth and intricacy, however, is rare. Enter the Worship Circle's Aaron Strumpel brings effervescence and new life to ancient material with his brilliant solo debut, Elephants.
Through twelve tracks and forty-three minutes, Strumpel encapsulates the primal urge and longing man has for God. Trumpets, pianos, violins, drums, and various other musical tools churn together in a fierce whirlwind of sound. It is as if the instruments themselves are pleading for God to hear and grant mercy. Voices chant and bleat behind Strumpel's, creating the feel of a tribal fireside gathering. Each song is full of heartache, confession, and desperate hope.
Elephants is not an easy listen. It is gut-wrenching, challenging, and complex. It will likely never produce a radio single or win any Dove Awards, but it is leaps and bounds above most music being put out by Christians today. With its brutal honesty and daring creativity, Aaron Strumpel's Elephants is the greatest project of his career and perhaps the best album I have heard this year.
King David Would Be Proud: Tonight I’ve been listening to Elephants, the gorgeous, soul-stirring album from Aaron Strumpel. This is a Psalms-style “worship album” complete with groaning, despair, joy, and desperation. This is the way worship is supposed to be, I think, yet you probably won’t find these songs on too many PowerPoint presentations come Sunday morning. My current favorite is one called “This Can’t Last”:
Chains hold my hands
I almost think they’re friends
But my heart still can feelTime marches in
Pretending to make me old
But my heart still can feelWorries rule my mind
I almost think they’re right
But my heart still can feelTremors rack my bones
I think I might be broken
But my heart still can feelThis can’t last
World goes round
Sun will rise
In your arms I’ll be foundThis describes my current spiritual state better than I could. I am still swimming in a sea of questions and I feel as if all of my passion has run dry, but there is a part of me that is confident in grace and in the God who offers it to me. Even though I have become quite cynical and calloused, my heart too can feel.
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.Psalm 40:1-3
ROM: Oh Yeah!!! The music this time around is just breathtaking; it’s from Aaron Strumpel’s hot new album Elephants, which reminds me of Joseph Arthur meets Wovenhand/16 Horsepower – the most ecstatically awesome mashup I can imagine at the moment. And for a limited time, those joining the uber-creative Love Is Concrete artists’ circle are getting a free download of the full album, courtesy of Aaron’s generosity & that of his producer, Todd Fadel of Agents of Future notoriety. Love Is Concrete is also 100% free so check it out & feel the love!
The Wail: We hung out with Aaron Strumpel, from Colorado, and Todd and Angie Fadel, from Portland, Oregon, who somehow got together to lay down the most outstanding musical set of the conference, a raw, punk-like, discordant, and often strikingly beautiful take on The Psalms. Or, the Wail. It was so refreshing to encounter people who love God, and experience pain, and let it rip.
