Evans the Death may be a rather morbid band name – it is actually the moniker of the undertaker in Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’ – but these new young popslinger’s status as one of the most energetic new bands around takes us far from any state of rigamortis.
The five piece release their debut single ‘Threads’ on 4 July on Fortuna Pop! following in the footsteps of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Allo Darlin’, with an album scheduled for release later in the year. Comprising Dan Moss (guitar, vocals), Olly Moss (bass), Katherine Whitaker (vocals keys), Rob Mitson (drums), and Matt Gill (guitar), Evans the Death began life after a chance encounter between Dan and Katherine at a gig a couple of years ago.
With a not so unusual list of all the best influences – Morrissey, Lawrence Felt, Edwyn Collins, and Jarvis Cocker and the scuzzed up melodic exuberance of early My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, The Pixies, and the I Am Kurious Oranj era of The Fall – you’d be forgiven for expecting something of a typical indie band. But what comes out is their own blend of musical reportage with the kind of youthful nervy-ness that makes for a perfectly pitched pop sensibility.
Early shows had more than a hint of comedy with a once ever performance of their ‘Crying Song’ at Brixton Windmaill, with Matt sobbing hysterically over music that sounded a bit like ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ by Mike Oldfield. “It was then that we decided to do it properly,” says Dan and listening now, proper it has become.
Their imminent first release, latent-cold-war-paranoia love-song ‘Threads’, produced by Rory Bratwell (Test Icicles/RAT:ATT:AGG/Kasms), sets personal love stories under a cloud of nuclear war no less, inspired by watching 1984’s notoriously stark nuclear war docudrama of the same name. After all, there’s nothing like the dread of Apocalypse to put things into perspective – as Katherine chants, “You put the fear of god into me/why did I watch that documentary?”
From tears to death to apocalypse, this is a band in fear of their lives. But don’t expect Evans the Death to lie down and die. More like dance on everyone else’s graves with their turmoil of a debut single, accompanied by a wickedly fun video! Vital, unhinged and fun.
‘Threads’ is out on 4 July on Fortuna Pop! with an album later this year. See www.myspace.com/evansthedeath, Catch Evans the Death on Thursday 7 July, 8pm @ Brixton Windmill for the single release show with Warm Brains and Dead Slow.
