PRINTTurn on, tune in, space out
Evangelicals spread the gospel of psychedelia
Courtesy of Dead Oceans
Evangelicals’ new album has bloggers abuzz after being bestowed with Best New Music honors by Pitchfork Media.
February 14, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Norman, Okla., might not be challenging Brooklyn for its title as the epicenter of indie rock, but the town has made a name for itself with bands such as the Flaming Lips and Starlight Mints that reach for the sky with their spacey rock. The latest band to blast off from Norman’s launch pad is Evangelicals.
“I don’t know what it is about here,” says Josh Jones, guitarist and lead songwriter of the group. “I don’t think anybody does any more drugs than in any other place.”
What: Evangelicals
When: Fri. 8:30 p.m.
Where: Mojo’s
Cost: $6
Call: 875-0588
Evangelicals’ music suggests otherwise. The quartet’s psychedelic, reverb-drenched production and song titles such as “Stoned Again” lend the band a druggy aura. Evangelicals’ January album, The Evening Descends, is filled with bright yet lightly distorted guitars and warm, often fluttering synths creating a relaxed atmosphere. Evangelicals are equally comfortable rocking out in this echoey sound and deliver a whirlwind of crashing cymbals and showy — but tasteful — guitar pyrotechnics on songs such as “Bellawood.”
Amidst this musical cacophony is Jones’ ethereal high voice that recalls Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes. The gentle vocals juxtapose nicely with his downtrodden lyrics. “Thematically I tend to write about desperate people and sometimes that includes myself,” says Jones. But he makes sure not to make the mood too dark. “I try to incorporate whimsy or camp or drama into the vulnerability to avoid sounding too emo.”
Jones isn’t about to discount the serendipity of sudden inspiration in his song writing. “Usually when I write a song, some what I call Hand-of-God lyrics will automatically be part of the tune,” he says. “I can’t escape these most of the time, usually because they sound good phonetically with the song. I then have to go about writing words that fit whatever Hand-of-God lyrics are set in stone.”
However, Evangelicals’ lyrics are hard to decipher, especially considering the mountain of effects Jones piles on his songs. Vocals are sped up, instruments cut in and out, and odd noises are peppered throughout The Evening Descends. “When I write a song, I don’t have really anything in mind,” Jones says of his sound manipulation. “The song starts to kind of take a life of its own usually.”
Similarly, Evangelicals have started to take a life of their own as a full band. After recording the majority of the debut album, So Gone, alone, Jones worked full-time with drummer Austin Stephens and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Davis on The Evening Descends. Jones got to know Stephens at a gas station where the latter worked. The two bonded through conversations about philosophy. Davis joined the pair after meeting Jones through a mutual friend and the band later added Todd Jackson as a touring guitarist.
Jones says there is an advantage in working with additional musicians. “You can be a little more objective about what you’re doing and whether it sucks, hopefully,” Jones says. “You get in there by yourself, and you go through months doing it, whatever it is, and you don’t know if it’s any good or not.”
Evangelicals will soon receive a lot more feedback as they begin their tour, which kicks off Friday. Jones has a few simple goals for the tour: “Not to get into a car crash, not to get arrested and maybe a few people at the shows.”
