Evangelicals : The Evening Descends

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/evangelicalseveningdescends.jpg" alt=" " />One of the most intricately psychotic albums of recent memory, Evangelicals' second album is a complicated beauty. ...
Evangelicals - The Evening Descends
8.9 Dead Oceans
2008 

Evangelicals : The Evening DescendsOne of the most intricately psychotic albums of recent memory, Evangelicals’ second album is a complicated beauty. Intimate and epic, The Evening Descends is a wildly energetic – and erratic – collection of heavily layered orchestral pop tracks that stretch in a thousand directions.  It’s no less than difficult, but in the end, delivers a huge reward.

Beyond the mind-bending detail of The Evening Descends, the variation in intensities opens the album up to a vast amount of wonderfully-produced theatrics and drastically uncommon melodies.  Josh Jones’ vocals highlight the furious re-imagination of dead ’50s rock ballads and give it a spectral panache.  The opening, title track sets the album off with a heroic guitar riff being disconnected by mixers as Jones’ voice echoes in several layers on a mystical, futuristic stage.  Guitars, horns, synths, and more quickly build, and afterwards, the depth of instrumentation on The Evening Descends doesn’t drop off at all.

“Midnight Vignette” introduces a bouncing sound that, without all of the effects and production, would seem pretty ordinary, but gets a rare treatment here.  Jones’ vocal track takes root and defines itself for the rest of the album with a wailing lull that’s both frantic and romantic.   “Skeleton Man” takes off on a cool rhythmic chug while acoustic guitars and haunting noises take over.   The touching end of “Stoned Again” is one of the album’s more tender moments, and no less magnetizing.

While the majority of The Evening Descends is a psychedelic storm of music, effects, and samples mixed in Tornado Alley, the strength lies upon its enchanting pop vibe that, after it’s all said and done, sounds nothing like pop music.  The melodic groove of “Party Crashin'” buzzes, swirls, and shines before a dark dialogue ensues.  “Snowflakes” is cold and stirring with gorgeous tones, while “How Do You Sleep?” is a chaotic romp with a one-a-million resolution.  Track moods change quickly, as “Bellawood” recalls a haunted house and “Paperback Suicide” is a positive, xylophonic stroll.  In all of the variation, the overwhelmingly abstract vibe carries throughout.  “Here in the Deadlights” combines angelic harmonies with an ominous feel before “Bloodstream” finishes the ordeal off with a electronically shimmering jog out of the fog.

The Evening Descends is an ornate, glorious album with an intense mix of nearly element that makes up a successful album.  It captivates while it repels, and above all else, commands appreciation for its sheer amount of imagination and effort.  Oklahoman psych-rock has found its heir to the Lips.

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