The Evening Descends

iTunes Review

Must be something in the water in Norman, OK, feeding the twisted, psychedelic pop appetites of bands like the Flaming Lips, Starlight Mints, and Evangelicals. The Evening Descends, the Evangelicals' second full length release, presents a bit of a dilemma for the listener: did someone get into the mixing room at the last minute, under the influence of some sort of lysergic substance, and pull a quick one? You might decide it doesn’t matter one bit, after hearing “Skeleton Man,” the album’s centerpiece, showcasing Josh Jones’ yearning voice (with its interesting timbre, falling somewhere between angelic and helpless), and the band’s quirky take on the pop format. Moving from a simple, bouncing bass line and drum to nightmarish, bad trip sound effects, to stripped down, shimmering tambourine and emotive, ‘70s styled, twin lead guitars, it ends in pealing layers of distortion, scary and gorgeous at the same time. Tracks like “Midnight Vignette,” “Stoned Again,” and “Party Crashin’,” with their lush, orchestrated sound and celestial vocal harmonies dripping in reverb, evoke bands like Caribou and Animal Collective, putting Evangelicals in good company.