Posted on: January 13, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

“The Evening Descends”Š and worlds collide. First you hear the prodigious musical skill: the deft guitar work, the clever pop sensibility, the wild arrangements. But then on other end of the spectrum there is the innocent and youthful charm of a trio of lost boys who seem to have no business making music with such maturity and sophistication. Taken together, you have Evangelicals, a wholly demented ensemble from Norman, OK. Dabbling in glam, slipping in a little funk and soul, drinking the psychedelic Kool-aid, blasting the synths, cranking up the guitars, and wrapping it all up with a dose of pop smarts, “The Evening Descends” is the first great album of 2008.
Picking up where their 2006 debut “So Gone” left off, Evangelicals leave behind much of their ADD-addled approach on “The Evening Descends”, instead taking their wealth of great ideas and harnessing them for good. The hyperactive, overdriven pop is still here, but it is balanced with restraint-not a lot, but enough-that allows the songs to shine through. All this and stories, too: Beneath the shrieks of guitars, keyboard blasts, and proggy space-age grooves, singer/guitarist Josh Jones leads the listener through tales of religion and revivalism, plus insanity, drugs, black-outs, zombies, good and evil, car crashes, love and a mental institution called Bellawood. Jones’s wild narratives and propulsive pop songs are anchored with the right balance of stoicism and wit by bassist/keyboardist Kyle Davis and drummer Austin Stephens.

Still not sure what to make of the madness? Evangelicals’ “The Evening Descends” just might be Oklahoma’s answer to Prince’s “Around the World in a Day”, but from the perspective of someone crashing at Pee-Wee’s PlayhouseŠ who happens to have a chainsaw slowly gnawing through his leg. “The Evening Descends” is crazy, self-assured and above all, a totally wild ride.
“The Evening Descends” will be released on January 22nd via Dead Oceans.

Tracklist:
The Evening Descends
Midnight Vignette
Skeleton Man
Stoned Again
Party Crashin’
Snowflakes
How Do You Sleep?
Bellawood
Paperback Suicide
Here In the Deadlights
Bloodstream

Press Photos, Hi-Res Album, One Sheet Text Artwork:
http://deadoceans.com/press/evangelicals/evangelicalspress.php
Press from “So Gone”:

8.1/10- Pitchfork Media.

“By now you know we love Serena-Maneesh, so we hit Bowery on Friday night in fanboy-mode to catch up with ’em, take in their headlining set, and snap some backstage pics. We didn’t expect to pay attention to the early opener, but our friendly, Bowery security man’s unexpected enthusiasm was a lure. The next draw was the goofy interplay (and botanical garden!) that had taken over the stage. When our ears finally opened, we even enjoyed what we heard. Evangelicals’ brand of unhinged psych-pop lives somewhere between state-mates Flaming Lips and Broken Social Scene, with shifting tempos, soaring background vocals, and a demented, sunny disposition. You’ll also hear some fleeting surf-rock basslines from the ’50s, a period that seems to have shaped moments of their trebly, bright guitars, served up with a dollop of reverb for taste.” – Stereogum

“Damn, “So Gone” is fun. Surely these guys are a blast live, and I imagine their future recordings will blast our expectations.” – Under the Radar
“Their debut album “So Gone”Šcomes off like a hyper-kinetic melding of Satellite Heart-era Flaming Lips and a wide-eyed, ADD Wolf Parade with maybe a touch of Clap Your Hands’ off-key yowling.” – Chromewaves.net

1 people reacted on this

  1. Evangelicals (at least these Evangelicals) are great. Hope I can see them on tour. I’ve been digging on their new album that they’re streaming on Myspace. It’s is amazing. But now I have to work…sigh.

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