Someone Loves You Very Much

I am guessing we've all downloaded Enjoyed by now, Stereogum's star-studded tribute to Bjork's Post. Admittedly, I have never heard the original album, and my excitement stemmed from the inclusion of Liars, No Age, Grizzly Fantasy, and especially Evangelicals. I have become consumed by this band, championing them and their stunning new album, The Evening Descends.

At first, an Evangelicals song seems like a lot. A lot of noise and a lot of swirling, though it holds together surprisingly well as a legitimate, catchy pop tune. By the time you realize this, though, it's apparent that something beyond saturated noise lies within the song. This-- the best part-- is the band's calling card: a complex of lighthearted humor, paranoia, and truly heavy emotion. Take "Midnight Vignette", for example. The faux-b-flick soundtrack that runs throughout the entire album gives way to something more seriously frightening

Please don't tell my mother, she wouldn't wanna know/ I've been going crazy/ Right outside her door

a desperate plea, invested with heartbreaking love and unhappiness. And next, in "Skeleton Man", the album's finest moment, Guitar Hero crescendos assist another wrenching tale, this time of emptiness

Skeleton Man, he says, 'I don't care'/ A chest left empty of the heart's affairs/ Well it can carry other things that weigh much less/ And a head all hollowed out leaves me alone/ So I can get some rest

and it all comes together-- the emptiness, the stubbornness, the loneliness-- in the last line

When someone loves you very much/ YOU'RE FUCKED (emphasis theirs)

Altogether The Evening Descends is a singularly compelling listen, filled with moments like these investing real heart into the most ridiculous characters-- b-movie stars and skeletons-- but making their problems more terrifyingly real for it.

Evangelicals - Skeleton Man [mp3]
The Evening Descends (Dead Oceans; 2008)

Get their cover of Bjork's "You've Been Flirting Again" as part of Stereogum's Enjoyed: A Tribute To Bjork's Post.

And if you like "Skeleton Man", I would highly suggest its other half, "Skeleton Man's Bone Crushing Depression (If I Get Well)", available as part of the single available at Other Music's digital store.