My wife loves elephants. They are one of her favorite things. And everybody likes stars. I like elephants and stars. But until recently, I did not know that I really like Elephants & Stars, the band. In fact, I think they have become one of my favorite bands. I had never even heard of them at this time last week. This new-to-me four-piece band out of Ontario, Canada happened to pop up on my Facebook feed, offering to send me a free CD. I might just take them up on it. But before making that impulsive leap, I navigated my computer on over to my favorite streaming service to check them out. They have a brand new 2026 record called Philistine Vulgarity. It is the follow-up to 2025’s Under the Earth and Above Heaven. Their first full length was 2022’s Last Chance Power Drive. They also released Ep’s in 2021 and 2023. Those were called Dreamland, and Get Your Own Army, respectively. I can say with sincerity that with only two or three exceptions, I really like every track they have recorded to date (or at least what I can find on Apple Music). I love a ton of them.
Elephants & Stars are:
Manfred Sittmann – Vocals, guitar
Adam Seed – Lead guitar
Michael MacMillan – bass
Stewart McKinney – drums
Elephants & Stars is melodic rock bordering on power pop. They are right in line with our own Watershed, and Cheap Trick. The vocals are great, the lyrics are engaging, and the guitar sound is pristine - and often feels a little urgent - if that’s an appropriate descriptor. I’m not about to try to review even the newest record track-by track. This is not a record review. This is me sharing a band for which I am terribly late to the party in hearing, but oh-so-happy to have found. If you are like me and are unfamiliar with this band, do yourself a major favor and dig in. If you like shimmering guitars, pounding drums and heartfelt vocals, then you need to give the following videos a listen. Enjoy!
“Of Halfway Houses and Ambulances”
“Flaw in the System”
“Take It All”
“Ceasefire”
Are you hooked? I sure as hell am. Go buy the new record, it looks like this:
After that, I’m pretty sure you’ll want everything they’ve ever done.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital. He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. His earliest musical memories are tied to a transistor radio with a single earphone that he carried everywhere listening to AM radio. He’s pretty sure that punk rock and skateboarding saved his life. His wife of 35 years says he’ll never grow up, and she’s exactly right. He attributes that to his lifelong love affair with all things rock n roll.