When Things Should Work, And Do Work

First of all, I should say that I don't feel entirely qualified to write a review of the Evens' album because I don't know shit about Amy Farina. I know there's a Warmers track on my 20 Yrs. of Dischord comp, but I don't really remember what it is or how it goes. So, if I say that track X sounds like [insert band here], and you wanna be like, "Hey jerkface, that sound is CLASSIC Amy Farina," well, maybe you're right.

On the other hand, Ian MacKaye is somebody whose...oeuvre?...I am pretty well acquainted with, so I can tell you that lovers of Fugazi are going to have a well-cut foothold with the Evens. This is especially true if you are down with the stuff they wrote for the Instrument soundtrack, and you aren't the kind of Fugazi listener who's going to get upset if you don't hear any screaming or discernable fuzz. With the Evens, you get lots of the heavily-plucked, clean-but-twangy bass notes - the ones that sit out all by themselves in the mix, as well as the politico-punk nursery rhyme vocals (the latter especially on the first two tracks of the Evens' album).

There's another pop element in there that makes me think of the Beauty Pill, or maybe even Whip-Smart-era Liz Phair. I'm guessing this is the Amy Farina sound, since that other stuff is so Ian MacKaye. It's sort of an understated bounciness - a little bit playful, but keeping it's cool. I think this sound plays out a lot in the drums and the guitars, both of which are mostly pretty light and clean.

All in all, it's an album that sounds very unselfconscious, which is something that Ian has always been good at. It's also very accessible - something which Fugazi has not always been (Red Medicine, anybody?).

I hate to say this, since it sounds lazy and I did it with my last post as well, but I just don't think I have a list of recommended tracks on this album. They're all worth listening to - and maybe I haven't listened to it enough times to develop favorites. For now, I guess I'll draw special attention to "Sara Lee", since it has a melancholy that reminds me of "I'm So Tired" off of the Instrument soundtrack, and Ian's vocals are pretty adorable.

I give this album a firm "A".*

*Feel free to make your own sex jokes about what "a firm A" might actually mean.