Album Reviews
Salt Lake City bummer punks Box Elder recently released their self-titled debut album on Steadfast Records and Sweet Cheetah Records. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and don’t sleep on it.
What began as a solo bedroom endeavor fro Chris Archuleta during the COVID pandemic has since evolved into a full-band collaboration with Claire Holden on synths and vocals, Ian Tompkins on guitar, and Nic Kartchner on drums. Together, the four of them have meticulously crafted an album that sounds like a throwback to early 00’s emo. A genre that has been beaten to death back then, yet somehow Box Elder manage to make it sound all fresh again. A cross between the synth-driven energy of The Get Up Kids, the melodic urgency of Jimmy Eat World and the expansiveness of Coheed and Cambria, there is a lot to unpack here.
Opener ‘Takes One To Know One’ sounds massive right out the gate, synths take the brightly shining ‘Origami Bats’ to the next level and the band channels all of their angst in ‘Post College Days’. The album’s second half isn’t slouching either with the energetic and poppy ‘Bug’, the lush and dreamy ‘Keeper’ and the propulsive ‘Gothling,’ which would make Jimmy Eat World proud.
Recorded by Archuleta himself, these tracks burn bright one second and shimmer the next, with synths adding a delicate layer that never overshadows the rest. Throw in dynamic drumming and a ton of sweet melodies and hooks, and you have a release that feels less like a debut and more like the work of a band with years behind their belt.
Box Elder track listing:
- Takes One To Know One
- Chucklefuck
- Origami Bats
- Clarity
- Arrows
- Post College Days
- Minimums
- Bug
- Keeper
- Gothling
- As The Story Goes
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
