Time Bomb Recordings

PHASE I. From chaos comes order, and after spending more than a year confusing everyone, The Elevator Drops retired their iconoclasm for a purity of vision. They were bewildered by the variety of reactions they evoked; the fashionable/retro set called The Elevator Drops "the new David Bowies," because they wore make-up and wrote catchy rock singles. Then there were the pop music lovers, who worried about The Elevator Drops' dark side, but swore the band were the "new wave of the new wave" because they wore make-up and toyed with synthesizers. The indie-rock crew loved The Elevator Drops because of the band's harsh sound and demeanor and their nasty antics, but took intellectual offense to their persistence on wearing make-up and peculiar penchant for writing catchy pop songs. The Elevator Drops realized they had twisted up pop like a pretzel.

A little more than a year ago, the Elevator Drops had released their first album, Pop Bus. I had the pleasure of sitting in with the group during a series of interviews, and, after a while, I realized that each magazine was getting an entirely different history of the Elevator Drops. It took some scrutinization to recognize that none of what was said was true, but all of it was believable. At that time, trying to clear it up -- get the facts -- was an impossibility. All that could be said was that they were a band and this was their music.

Something happened between then and now, the now being the release of The Elevator Drops' new album. Based in Boston, they toured endlessly and, when it came time to go back into the studio, The Elevator Drops chose to record the album in Detroit. They cited a lack of outside stimulus as the reason for that particular city. Further, The Elevator Drops saw Detroit as symbolic of the deadheart of America and they wanted to make an American album. The album, titled People Mover, is a reference to a monorail system of the same name which ceaselessly circles Detroit. The People Mover offers an elevated perspective of Detroit's "burnt out factories and fantastic futuristic towers which dare to spring up amidst all the wreckage." The view from the windows of the People Mover became a catalyst for The Elevator Drops, helping them to focus, sharpen, and redefine their perspective.

PHASE II. In the process of recording People Mover, The Elevator Drops redefined themselves. They stumbled over exactly who they were and what they were trying to achieve. Three people with three distinct personalities and three distinct sets of influences had created a sound that had become absolutely their own. The album is very serious, often sad and frightening, but it remains an Elevator Drops record. Which, loosely translated, means that it's full of contradiction. It may be sad, but it's also giddy and fun. The songs, although instantly likable, are also subversive, filled with subliminal sounds and messages which you discover only after repeated listenings. It's not just the music, of course: the lyrics take on new meaning as you hear them again and again. The result is that the album retains its freshness. A year ago, The Elevator Drops terrified audiences with their idiosyncrasies. They were known to wear "striking" clothes and bizarre makeup, and they alienated people with their brutal honesty. But amidst the contradictions, the confusion, and the mayhem, the band always pulled it off: it all made sense in their twisted and perfect world of pop delirium. And now, with the release of People Mover, the Elevator Drops have come together and created their own musical reality. It may be pop, but it's backwards and forwards and upside down; it's pop music that challenges itself. As I said, from chaos comes order, and The Elevator Drops consciously tread the line that distinguishes the two.

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