Popsheep

The debut release from legendary Fugazi founder Ian MacKaye's new band, the Evens, seems to have came and went without making much of a dent on the indie music press. Which is kind of typical. Fugazi, arguably one of the best bands of all time, has seen little fanfare from music critics over their last few releases, despite each of them being amazingly solid albums that continuously take the band's sound to new levels. But I guess all this is beside the point. Fugazi fans are legion and are extremely dedicated, so what the music press doesn't do is really beside the point.

The Evens is a two piece, with MacKaye on baritone guitar and Amy Farina of the Warmers on drums. The sound is partially what you'd expect from MacKaye and, at the same kind, something totally different from earlier projects. It is a kind of quasi-urban folk music, but not of the hairy person with acoustic guitar variety. Instead, the songs are mainly punk rock ballads stripped down to the actual bare minimum, without the use of distortion or excessive volume, but still with the occasional sharp political commentary mixed in with a steady beat and great lyrics about daily life in the city. And MacKaye and Farina do some beautiful harmonies. Basically what I'm saying is that it's really a good album, and deserves more attention than it has.

This song is the album's opening track, and seems to perfectly describe how my days have been feeling lately.

The Evens - Shelter Two