Monday, January 14, 2008

Have You Heard:
Evangelicals

Is there something in the water in Oklahoma, because the musical landscape in the Sooner state just got even weirder.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Norman, Oklahoma's very own Evangelicals. If I were forced at gunpoint to make any sort of comparison, I guess I'd have to say Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but even that is a stretch. Granted, singer Josh Jones at times yelps his way through climactic moments much like Alec Ounsworth, and some of the arrangements are so excitable you can't help but feel rather giddy, but CYHSY never sounded this tripped out. Since a good comparison is hard to come by, I implore you to listen for yourself. The band is streaming their upcoming full length, The Evening Descends (out January 22 on Dead Oceans), in its entirety on their MySpace page. Or, if you prefer just a quick taste, you can use our nifty little player to sample the tune "Skeleton Man," or download it via the Dead Oceans webpage.

[Midwest Spin] I've only been able to find two Evangelicals tour dates, but lucky for us both are Midwest shows! The first is a free show in Norman, while the other is in Columbia and is almost free (six freakin' dollars). Here's hoping that when the proper tour is finally announced they'll have a KC/Lawrence date in as well.

1/24 - Evangelicals @ Meacham Auditorium (Univ. of Oklahoma) (CD Release Party)
2/15 - Evangelicals w/ Headlights, Gentleman Auction House @ Mojo's (Columbia, MO)

2 comments:

Femme Fatale said...

I can see the CYHSY comparison... lately I've been noticing a lot of bands resemble them (or rather, I've heard a lot of bands recently and thought, CYH ripped these guys off!) Most of the time the comparisons are largely the vocal aesthetic (like Television or Destroyer). But even though the Evangelicals' vocals are somewhat reminiscent of CYH, I agree that there's also a similar feeling of rowdiness/boisterousness here... I believe you said something about it evoking giddiness? I have to agree.

Girlfriend said...

I thought I had never heard these guys before but in fact I had and I hated it...Oops. Is "oops" really good enough for passing up a good band? It will have to do for now... Based on what I've listened to so far this new album has no inkling of the previously dreaded sounds I walked out on when they played L-town. Sorry Evangelicals I'll make it up to you, I swear.