ELAN @ Belly Up Aspen

The word “elán” means “life force”. But the rock band “ELAN” (written in all caps “ELAN” as opposed to “Elán”, the lead singer) – a brother-and-sister led quintet from a small village near Guadalajara, Mexico – define themselves in different terms than other contemporary bands. On their eighth album See Us Spin, they continue a streak as the first Mexican group to release successful albums in English, offering plenty of gritty, graceful style in its tracks thanks to the snake charmer’s dance of Elán’s vibrant singing and deeply human lyrics, and Jan Carlo DeFan’s emotionally expressive, sonically adventurous guitar and a band that seems like it was teleported from Jacksonville in the 70’s.

After 15 years, 7 albums, 1.7 million records sold on their own, and countless shows, this band is going to perform for the first time in the US in 2012 and beyond. They are a fluke, a rare concoction of the wrong place at the wrong time. That is the best kind. If you can, go see them. You’ll hear a lot about them in times to come. They were “uncool” before being “uncool” was cool.

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