I’m arising out of my daily unraveled-cassette tape bath to deliver this decade’s most critical independent news about the most critical imprint of independent music from two decades ago: the Elephant 6 Recording Company has come back from a deep, deep sleep to share its deep, deep catalog with a new generation! What? How? Why?! These are just some of the key journalistic questions I’ll be answering here, so read on!
For those born post-Y2K bug when the simulation glitched and our timeline irrevocably split from the good timeline in which no one knows who Elon Musk is, the Elephant 6 Collective is the source of all your favorite ’90s indie groups, from Neutral Milk Hotel to The Olivia Tremor Control to The Apples In Stereo (and more!). With the announcement of the return of the Elephant 6 label, 2019 is set to see a handful of retrospective and current releases from the imprint, including never-before-released rarities collections, new records, and — you guessed it — reissues!
And you know how I know that? Because the press release told me! And the thing it told me most of all was that The Gerbils’ 1998 debut LP Are You Sleepy will be the first in the line of Elephant 6 reissues this year! The Gerbils — featuring Neutral Milk Hotel’s Scott Spillane and Jeremy Barnes — made the kind of lo-fi psych rock the collective was known for, brimming with jangling guitars, light-hearted melodies, and impenetrable tape fuzz (so much fuzz!). The reissue hits August 9.
Pre-order Are You Sleepy here, and preview a song and check out the tracklisting below. Also, keep an eye out for more Elephant 6 news this year on their website, or, hey, maybe even on THIS website, too!
Are You Sleepy tracklisting:
01. Sunshine Soul
02. Is She Fiona
03. Crayon Box
04. Penny Waits
05. Fluid
06. Wet Host
07. Glue
08. Ted Doesn’t Mind
09. Walnuts
10. Lead
11. Grin