Evangelicals
The Evening Descends
(Dead Oceans, 2008)

Remember when Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock would scream lyrics like a boy a bit touched in the head singing Pixies songs? Remember how amazing that was? Ahh, those were the good old days, but sadly… they are gone. Possibly forever. Sigh. Well… if you’re missing that sort of raw emotion in a band, maybe you should give the Evangelicals a try. And if that doesn’t convince you, and really it’s probably not enough to, maybe the fact that they fold that biting intensity into kaleidoscopic psychedelic pop akin to (Oklahoma brethren) the Flaming Lips with enough weird time changes and unexpected transitions to melt your brain right out of your ears, maybe that’ll convince you. If not, perhaps we’re not friends.

The Evening Descends feels like an accidental mess, running amuck, spending vast amounts of energy trudging through a thick haze of indefinable noise that’s generated by an assault of glam rock, folk rock, goth rock, psych rock, prog rock, synth rock, funk, and soul. It somehow manages to sneak through this genre barrage with a pop sensibility that gives songs their much needed structure. There are definitely some moments that feel a little purposeless, but it’s worth fighting through that nonetheless, as it’s more refreshing to hear them spew forth this much creative output in one record. It’s the type of thing that would make many bands much more popular in stature feel embarrassed by for not having tried this hard. While not a masterpiece, per se, Evangelicals have created a weird and colorful gem worthy of much appreciation.

Let’s get back to the importance of a well-timed scream and the most absurd song on the record: “Bellawood.” This song is named after a mental institution. This is a demented monster-movie song kicked off with a person crunching on popcorn seemingly watching a horror flick and fueled by ghostly high-pitched wailing vocals. Midway through the song Josh Jones and company collectively repeat several times, “Strange things keep happening,” as the music drops out and Jones sing/speaks “There’s a monster inside of me / It’s been growing look closer you can see / If I get to heaven my dear mother will cry / Ain’t no boys with monsters in their insides.” Both the music and Jones proceed to punch the sadness with a cacophonous broadside of that insanity-inducing, orchestral monster-movie music and Jones sca-reaming fugitive lyrics full of frustration. I love them for this. I hit repeat often on this track, specifically to encounter this moment again and again. One could say they’re hitting us over the head with shtick, but I happen to like horror films and good screams. These good screams can also be found on “Skeleton Man” as the song ends in cymbals crashes as Jones screams “Someone loves you very much! Someone loves you very much!”

Themes of religion, insanity, drugs and unconsciousness, forces of good versus evil, zombies, and more abound as the Evangelicals continuously exemplify how weird and messed up life can get. The title and opening track, replete with its angelic choir boy harmonizing, suggests a sardonic play on their band name with the lyrics, “I open my eyes in the night / And I search for my hand in the dark / And I can’t see anything at all / I don’t think you even care / Oh, the evening descends.” “Midnight Vignette” follows, and it’s a little more upbeat sounding with synths that slide in and out while a drum beat keeps it spirited… although its lyrics are about a kid that thinks he’s going crazy. The album settles in a bit for rollicking and trippy tracks like “Stoned Again”, “Snowflakes”, “How Do You Sleep?” (about overcoming recurring nightmares), and “Paperback Suicide” (about a frustrated writer who kills himself so he can hear his own obituary) that are more subtle in their delivery but no less dark in subject matter. The interplay between carefree floating in a tinkling-vibraphone dream-world and all that is nefarious and frightening is most poignant in “Party Crashin’.” Even though its acoustical pluck, rising synths, and rejoicing harmonizing suggest otherwise, the song slowly destroys any joy felt as the lyrics unfold into a song about a car crash and severed legs. Eep! Somehow it retains its beauty, as does the majority of the record.

Through all of this swirling psychedelia and heavy narrative matter, Evangelicals have enough pop smarts to know when to simply crank up their guitars or drop the challenging time changes for some shoegazing and even some twee via Of Montreal. Many tracks at any given time can come through as a favorite either for their crooning vocals and highly affecting lyrics, for the intricate guitar work and genre-jumping, or for the massive creativity and flawless transitions. One of the more innovative bands I’ve heard in a long time.

Watch: ”Midnight Vignette“ [at scjag.com]