Customer Reviews

Other Victorians

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The darkly grinding "Other Victorians" is a good debut for the San Francisco punk-dance-rock group Evening, although in places it falters. The panoramic riffs and twinkly computer effects are among the most solid moments, sounding like a mix of Radiohead, Grandaddy, and the best of prog and punk.

Elusive electronic quavers open the pleasant rocker "Being Is Automatic," before kicking off into a round of surreal rockers like the whirlwind "Vivixc," steady buildup of "Darmstadt," and roaring "Run Memory." Not to mention the pop like the winking, wavery "Vieux Finder," the deceptively gentle-sounding "Place Your Center," and the wonderfully sputtery "Breast Milk Saves Sixteen At Sea." The album rounds off with a two-part finale "A Given Time": the first part is rock-y, while the second is wistful and spacey.

"Other Victorians" sounds at times like Evening harvested the best riffs of Radiohead and splashed them through some prog-rock and plenty of reverb. It'll bring back some pleasant memories of bands that obiously influenced these guys. Even if influenced by others, don't worry about it sounding recycled: despite their vaguely dark aura, Evening sounds remarkably energetic and fresh.

The album putters out near the middle, before rousing itself up again -- for a few songs, it loses the spaciness and becomes too grounded. But it rises up again with the lingering vibes, solid percussion, computer twiddles and lots of reverb. At their worst, Evening sound good -- at their best, their instrumentals sound absolutely epic.

The lyrics are undoubtedly the weakest part of "Other Victorians." They're obviously shooting for a Radiohead/Grandaddy vibe, with lots of disillusionment and robots. But the whole thing sounds a bit like random song lines strung together. They're good song lines, but they shouldn't all be mashed into a song like that. At least Matt Hist's high-pitched, earnest voice can overcome some trite lines like "I'm strung out on happiness."

"Other Victorians" has a flair for elaborate, entrancing instrumentals, so much so that you can almost forget the flawed lyrics. Vibrant, excellent and a very promising debut.

This is probably the best band you've never heard of right now. I think I've figured out my initial infatuation with this San Francisco's debut full length. In some vague way, a number of the tracks remind me of a lot the wave of post-Grunge local scene NW bands... bands I really liked... bands that were a little bit punk, a little bit prog or classic, a little bit pop even with their headliner guitar riffs, and had the post grunge reverb still hanging around their scene like a 5 o'clock shadow. And these were bands were lost in the backwash and backlash of that same scene, and in those eddies a lot of great potential disappeared. Evening reminds me a lot of a post-modern Pond or Sprinkler, stirred in with the inevitable influences of the modern masters such as Radiohead. These are also bands you have probably have never heard of, but they were bands that I was really fond of and saw not as having penned masterpieces but as coming on the scene with enough potential energy to do so, but sadly it was energy never fully realized. I hear their sounds in "Other Victorians", and hope that this incredible opening effort is signs of impending brilliance because if they get much better, look out.

My favorite parts are the direct driving guitar on several of the openers, like "Placing You Center" or "Vivixc", lines that are simple yet get that head noddin'. The center of the album becomes much more ripe with that oh so hip recipe layers of guitar melodies over rhythm with a antiquated vocal style. Listen to "Darmstadt" or "John West" and tell me those songs couldn't do 12 rounds on Advance Warning with any Franz Ferdinand or Interpol track. Go ahead, tell me. Then check out this release if you like either of those bands.

This album was a nice suprise. It's immediately obvious how talented and creative these guys are. They pack a serious punch and have a very intense vibe. While there are a few great songs on the record, There are also a few that I would throw back. Overall it is a definite keeper, and I gave a feeling we can expect some good things from this band. Very solid debut. RIYL The Standard, Dredg, Built to Spill, Blonde Redhead.

There have been a bunch of bands from the bay area recently. Evening is probably the best one. Their sound is very modern. It is influenced by new wave music and glam rock. The lead singer Matt is very original. It is a very modern sound. They take their fondness of the 1980s and turn it into something really new. There are some dodgy titles like "Breastmilk Saves" but overall it's a nice album. It has epic sounds that evoke another time. Evening evokes some gothic tones at times. But they probably are more about listening to the Beatles. "Other Victorians" sounds like some book written at the turn of the century. Evening is a new band to check. The music of the future may be like this.