The Evens | The Odds

Dischord (2012)
By LIZ PELLY  |  November 21, 2012
3.5 3.5 Stars

MUSIC_ALBUMREV_TheEvens_TheOdds

In 2006, Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, Embrace, etc.) began focusing his energy on the Evens, a duo with former Warmers drummer Amy Farina. Their third record proves that even the most militant punk songs are often best served by a stripped-down aesthetic. MacKaye has always worked with that sort of ethos, but the Evens are radically minimal — lone baritone guitar and punchy drums bring clarity to fiery post-post-punk minimums and maximums. The most addictive track is "King of Kings," a huge sing-a-long anthem. Another compelling moment comes with "Wanted Criminals," a song framing the fucked-up realities of the prison industrial complex in the context of the recession. "Need a job, need a job. . . . What if every single person was a deputy?" asks MacKaye. "Jails in search of prisoners/Jails in search of prisoners," he continues. It's a haunting, complex look at economic injustice.

Related: Boo-ya!, Jews just want to have fun, Rare treats, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Ian McKaye, the Odds, Embrace,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY LIZ PELLY
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   COLLECTIVE THINKING @ BLANC GALLERY  |  March 06, 2013
    In 2010, a group of 20-something art and music enthusiasts transformed an unassuming basement space on Vancouver Street into YES.OUI.SI., a multi-media gallery and gathering spot for young talents that hosted dozens of visual-art shows, film screenings, literary readings, and experimental music performances.
  •   PRIMORDIAL SOUNDS’ LABEL-READY LEARNING CURVE  |  February 20, 2013
    Noah Bond's Allston apartment looks like an antique shop.
  •   BEACH FOSSILS | CLASH THE TRUTH  |  February 20, 2013
    Last year in an interview with the Phoenix , Dustin Payseur of Beach Fossils said his sophomore album would be inspired by "a lot of frustration from a lot of different sources."
  •   ICEAGE | YOU'RE NOTHING  |  February 11, 2013
    There's something intriguing about the ways Copenhagen punk band Iceage seem simultaneously to care so much and so little.
  •   BEE-HAVIOR: ''FESTOONING THE INFLATABLE BEEHIVE'' AT BU'S 808 GALLERY  |  February 06, 2013
    An art gallery may seem like an unconventional space for discussions on insect behavior, but Maria Molteni maintains beekeeping is as much an art as a science.

 See all articles by: LIZ PELLY