Song Spotlight: "Collective Thoughts" by From Elsewhere

Emo and punk music have a tendency to thrash and to smash—not that there’s anything wrong there. Cut beat drums, searing power chords, and shouted vocals lead to the mosh pits we know and love. Yet they leave very little room for anything else. One weapon left almost untouched by such music is groove: dynamic shifts and attentive writing that add a fluidity to the music, an energy that moves the listener even as it moves the song. Groove gets largely ignored by emo and punk, but not with Indiana’s From Elsewhere, whose latest single “Collective Thoughts” functions on the very principal that punk can sway as hard as it can slam. 

“Collective Thoughts” is a swirl of interlocking guitar riffs and drum beats, every instrument seamlessly intertwined in an emotive dance. The bass treads playfully along its own melody as the band dips between dynamic breaks, the composition undulating like ocean waves. The band hangs back for the verses, letting the soft rasped vocals float at the surface until the explosive chorus crashes into existence. 

The chorus poses the question “Would you tell them all your secrets / when they don’t give a fuck about them?” almost like a challenge, kicking the chorus to life with profanity that invites the gritty chords and chugging rhythm section to carry the tune along. “Collective Thoughts” is a tune that evolves as it goes, the intelligent compositional choices creating momentum for a band locked into a powerful and particularly unique groove. 

The indie-punk riffs and casually emotional lyrics of “Collective Thoughts” coalesce into a tune that is too danceable for its own good, and yet as introspective as a dream journal. From Elsewhere approach their songs with an intensity that is both powerful and restrained; they crank the energy up slowly as they go, letting their drum fills and catchy rhythms sink their teeth in before dragging the listener down into the depths of the song. This is a band that understands the importance of thought in music, and how it relays feeling; so I wouldn’t be surprised to see From Elsewhere making big waves in the near future. 

You can find more info on From Elsewhere on their Facebook page. They just dropped their debut EP, Just Like the Sun, featuring “Collective Thoughts” on Spotify. You can also download the single from their Bandcamp page.