Customer Reviews

The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Life Ends

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been listening to this CD for alomst 8 weeks now and I have to say I love it. It is currently the soundtrack to my life and each time I hear a song again, I find a different lyric to relate to or beat to rock out to. There is not a bad song on the cd, but the clear favourites are "The Pursuit", "Q", "Kiss the Flag" (Brilliant lyrics - god's not alone anymore!) and "Painted". I was also fortunate enough to purchase the CD with the bonus DVD, making my appreciation for the Evan's Blue message so much greater. The CD will grow on you, just like the first!

So i figured id wait until i actually picked up the album to write a real review, so heres my take on the new Evans Blue album, The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Life Ends.

Let me start by saying im a pretty big evans blue fan, so I cant speak entirly for people who are new to the band. ive been following them since " The Melody And The Energetic Nature of Volume " came out, and honestly, at first, i really didnt think they were that good. A friend of mine convinced me to go to a show, and thats when my opinion changed. Because of an emergency, the band was forced to play their entire set acoustically, sans drummer. I was completely blown away. The band sounded pretty good acoustically, but Kevin completely blew me away with his vocals. I had never seen such power and energy from a singer on stage before, and im not new to singers or live performances.

So as they say, the true test of a band is the live performances. After that show, Evans Blue was in every playlist i made. I loved the poetic lyrics through every song, the subtle but catchy medlodies, and how new they sounded compared to alot of other new rock. When i heard they were releasing a new album, i couldnt wait to hear it.

The new album, to me, is a good step forward. After losing a drummer, they came back with a really strong sophmore album, IMO. The album in its entirety flows very well, from beginning to end. As a musician and audiophile, i think the album was mixed better, not as muddy, and the guitars sound crisper. this could be because of new gear, im not sure. Either way, this album does sound better than the previous. The album contains many types of songs as well, from slower poetic songs to faster and more groove oriented songs as well. What a previous reviewer said about not hearing the vocals as well was likely an effort to blend some of the chorus guitar tracks into the vocals itself through post production. I think it makes the choruses have a stronger presence and are an interesting touch.

So far, My favorite songs on every Evans Blue album have not been the singles. Previously, my favorites were " Beg ", Stop and say you love me ", and " Quote ". With the current release, I would say " Pin-Up ", and " in a red dress and alone ". Everyone has their opinions i guess, and i would agree more with choosing " the pursuit " to represent the album than " cold.. but im still here " did.

So Theres my take. For fans of Evans Blue and the first release, this album wont dissapoint. For newcomers to the band, either album represents the band well. They both contain highly poetic styles with straightfoward and melodic rock tracks. A great Sophmore release from one of my favorite bands in new rock.

In early 2006 I discovered Evans Blue with their debut album, The Melody And The Energetic Nature Of Volume. Every track on the album was memorable, catchy and very unique compared to today's standard alternative rock. It was clear these guys were something special.

Flash forward to March 2007. Via MySpace I learned that Evans Blue was releasing a new album already... In only a little over a year since the debut. I was a bit worried because this seemed like a rushed project (most bands take at least 2 years inbetween albums) and I was afraid the quality would suffer. I heard the single on the radio soon after and to my surprise it was very good and very Evans Blue-ish. Maybe my worries were for nothing?

Well I wasted no time picking this CD up the day it came out and when I popped it in the CD player it was clear that this CD is not as powerful as the debut. There are some hits, don't get me wrong.. Q, Pin-Up and The Pursuit all hit the spot very well. The lyrics are very poetry-like, as the debut was. The distinct guitar is there as well. The album just seems to lack the bite that the debut had... Maybe its because there is no hard hitting song like Cold (but i'm still here), or maybe its just because we've heard this sound before already. All in all I give this CD 4/5 stars, and Evans Blue fans will most certainly enjoy it... but I still can't help but think that something here is missing in the formula

i took stab in the dark buying this CD, and i was not upset at all. One of the best i've heard in along time

I will start by saying I think Evans Blue is an incredible band. They have some sort of "it" factor in their music. I really hate putting it that way, but their songs are so emotional it really is moving sometimes. Plus the lyrics match the band's sound amazingly well. I guess I have no perfect words to describe Evans Blue and their sound. Lets just say they have something special.

Enough babble about that, well I have listened to "The Pursuit.." for like 4 months straight now, not everyday but a lot, and I cant stop either. The album is solid from track to track in my opinion. I favor songs like Q and The Pursuit, but every song has something to offer. I do agree the albums is similar to the debut, but I dont think that is a bad thing right now. Bands will always be criticized for not changing their sound or ruining their sound, so it a fine line and a pointless argument. Sure I want to hear Evans Blue experiment with future albums, but I dont think this albums suffers because of its similarity to the debut. It is not like they wore out their sound with the debut album and are one hit wonders.

Evans Blue second effort didnt miss a beat after the first album and actually complements the first album. I would recommend both CDs to anyone.

Even though they released this album only a year and a half after their debut, this effort does not seem rushed. The songs are all fully-realized and full of killer hooks. The vocals are as outstanding as ever. In reality, each song on here is deserving of radio play. That is one thing that is great about these guys. The music is uncompromising, and they don't release sub-par songs. My one criticism is that they don't have that one simply awesome song that people would buy the record for alone. "Cold (But I'm Still Here)" was that song for their debut. That's not to say that there are any shortage of great songs on here. As far as heavy rock goes, these guys are one of the best bands out there.
One interesting thing that they have used on each album is a cover song from a female pop artist. On their debut, it was "Posession" by Sarah McLaughlin. This one features "Caught A Lite Sneeze" by Tori Amos. I never thought I'd say that I enjoyed a song written by either of them, but Evans Blue does a great job of turning them into heavy songs and making them their own. Check it out for yourself. I consider those songs to be highlights on each album. In summary, if you like heavy rock music from bands like Taproot, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, or 10 Years, check these guys out. They have quickly become one of my favorite new bands.

This cd has all the makings of being a great one. However, I feel the lead singer is holding back his voice too much. In many of the songs, I noticed if you turn up the music loud in a system you can barely hear his voice. I feel one thing that needs to be done is he needs to show more emotion in his words and use his "screaming voice" to his advantage. The song that really jumped out to me on the previous album was "Over", and this is because he used his powerful voice to display emotion. Many of the songs on this album are very powerful instrumentally, but the voice in many cases just doesn't match the music.

There are some good songs on this cd, but it seems to get more boring as you move on from track to track. Most Evans Blue fans will like this album, but more needs to happen with this band if they really want to make it big...

I'm going to buy more of this artist. While the genre has a bunch of bands that are really vanilla this band breaks the mold. Listen to the audio previews if you don't believe me. Worth the price if you're looking for something a little different.

The first Evans Blue record was really great and I listened to it over and over. Then I received the second one as a Christmas gift and I couldn't believe that it was better than the first one, I didn't think they could do it. Evans Blue are awesome!

evans blue is back once again with their second cd T he Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Life Ends.
This cd is as good as the first one.Evans blue dont change a lot in this album.they still are a great melodic band,the band rocks and they are making great music.
buy this cd if you like cold,chevelle,deftones exc.