Review: depressedelica - elvis depressedly


By Zach Zollo


Depressedelica is haunted: by ghosts of childhood, by phantoms of relationships past, by demons in disguise - really, anything that goes bump in the night. Originally slated for an October 2019 release, depressedelica was put on hold after Mathew Lee Cothran sought treatment for bipolar disorder, depression and alcoholism with the support of his label. After nearly six months of musical purgatory, the album was "surprise!" released this past Friday, along with the welcomed announcement that Cothran is on a stable path down the road of recovery (Mat, if you're reading, we love you and we're proud of you). But while the man has begun to find peace, the music echoes conflict and uncertainty, in both finality and identity. 

According to their Bandcamp, depressedelica is presumably the final album for Cothran under the elvis depressedly moniker. It's surprising, then, that this album feels misplaced along prior releases under the name. Musically, the album sheds (most of) the lo-fi, hooky immediacy of prior efforts for textured, crystalline and experimental bedroom pop. Instead of the blissfully angelic melodies of an EP like goner or holo pleasures, Cothran introduces pitch-shifted vocals into the mix that - thankfully - are often more tasteful than tasteless. The auxiliary flourishes, from the brass on "Who Can Be Loved In This World?" to the hip-hop inspired barks on "Jane, Don't You Know Me?" and the ascending piano chords of "Peace on Earth," further demonstrate Cothran taking risks while attempting to perfect the shade of bedroom pop he defined this past decade.

Lyrically, Cothran is as reliant on religious imagery as ever, reflecting on Jesus, angels and peace on Earth in ways that are familiar but provocative. But where previous projects found a way to provide a sense of catharsis, depressedelica only offers exhaustion, due to Cothran attempting to exorcise ALL of the evils inside him. Take "Primal Sigh," where, in a drunken stupor, he proclaims "someday I'll have the guts to silence my raging mind and shut it up." Such sentiments occupy a majority of the record (what's new?), but Cothran's spirit feels particularly dejected. The gloomy atmosphere conjured from the constant barrage of such statements thus disheartens the listener more so than any other project under this name. 

As another release in Cothran's expansive catalogue, depressedelica closes a chapter of life's past to enter into a world of renewal. It interstitially enters dreams amid its nightmarish landscape, beginning and ending on its strongest notes. But as the final elvis depressedly record, something feels missing. Where the moniker once presented infectious melodies, tight compositions and emotional weight, depressedelica shifts the final focus towards troublesome tones, moody compositions and spiritual weight - the type that affects your being, not how you're feeling. It's a commendable effort, and a blessing to receive after five years since their last effort, but even despite its best efforts to close the cover of this book, nothing feels properly sent off. It's final, just without the finality. Sometimes, for the right person, it's better that way.


BOPS: "Who Can Be Loved In This World?" "Jane, Don't You Know Me?" "Holo World," "Let's Break Up The Band," "New Love In The Summertime"

DUDS: "Chariot," "Control"

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