The Evens
Get Evens

Listening to Ian MacKaye hitting falsettos, after the weight of his previous hardcore experience in the various and seminal Embrace, Minor Threat, and Fugazi (with all their associated baggage) is undoubtedly a bizarre experience but one that absolutely must be undertaken. We were starting to worry (and still do, to tell the truth) about the existence of Fugazi. That much-heralded "pause for reflection" by the band sounds more and more like a quiet breakup, almost as if they were one of those bands that disappear into thin air after trying for success. So, with Guy Picciotto producing for Blonde Redhead, just to name one, Joe Lally releasing his first solo album ("There To Here", dark and minimal), and the amazing Brendan Canty turning to filmmaking, production, and a peaceful life with his family, there's plenty to worry about, and to be completely honest, "Get Evens" won't in any way soothe your-our craving for Fugazi. Sure, making comparisons with the past can lead to overly negative judgments, so it's better to judge the album for what the band managed to demonstrate rather than for the burden it inevitably carries.

First of all, this isn't about hardcore, abrasive screams like sandpaper, guitars roaring, and rhythm sections pounding. It simply isn't because the sound is much more bare and minimal: MacKaye puts aside the distortions in favor of his baritone guitar, and behind the drums sits Amy Farina, the sister of the much more famous Geoff, whose agile but never aggressive drumming keeps the sound far from past extremes. What stands out is the relaxed nature of MacKaye's voice, near as mentioned to the sweetness of falsetto, seamlessly intertwining with the powerful and evocative voice of his musical partner. Melodies with a Beatles-like quality, alternating bursts of energy with melancholy, lyrics that haven't forgotten the anger of Fugazi but leave some room for intimacy: these are the ingredients of The Evens' proposal, which from the somber opener "Cut From The Cloth" to the sarcastic conclusion of "Dinner With The President", remains almost unchanged. In "Cut From The Cloth", the political tone of the album emerges: "why would they vote in favor of their own defeat?" ask MacKaye and Farina, the tone echoing defeat and resignation. But in "Everybody Knows" the "rocking" sound contrasts with MacKaye's seductive voice before it explodes (with due proportions) into an epic and accusatory chorus (obviously aimed at Georgino): "everybody knows you're a liar". "Cache Is Empty" even starts out funky-tribal and quickly becomes one of the best on the album with its hypnotic bass riff, its martial rhythm, and that improbable MacKaye whispering "if you ignore your heart things will fall apart". In "Pushed Against The Wall" (again sung by Farina) it sounds like listening to the White Stripes stripped of amplifiers and distortions, without their irony and smug coolness, perhaps introverted and melancholic, slightly more roaring in the chorus almost screamed by MacKaye.
The rest vacillates between these two moods, the subdued/melancholic of "Cut From The Cloth" and the more lively and combative of "Everybody Knows", with one excellent exception: "Eventually" which almost feels like homemade "garage" trip-hop, sounding as if Portishead (given the female voice) shed their shadowy electronics in exchange for a guitar (serving as a hypnotic, obsessive bass) and drums. After the aforementioned "Dinner With The President", the album closes, with great feelings and with a certain sense of repetitiveness, despite the ease with which MacKaye and Farina intertwine their vocal lines and likely unroll the most pop melodies ever produced by Dischord. The obsessive simplicity of the instrumentation probably makes the sound a bit static, and although such pompous, misplaced symphonism would certainly not have been beneficial to their cause, the songs could have benefitted from a few tweaks here and there, a piano, a sample, but so be it: the result is excellent nonetheless. Mind you, it takes who knows how many "Get Evens" to make a "Repeater", but a chance should not be denied to what is a product inevitably suffering from comparison with the past. If you are worried like me for Fugazi, I repeat, this album won't alleviate your anxiety. It just can’t. So listen to it, and don't think about what came before. Just think that Ian MacKaye is far from calm, don't be fooled by his voice, and above all, that he hasn't (yet) lost his edge. Let's hope.