Evangelicals
So Gone
(Misra/Sonic Unyon)
Red State rock can be strange. When surrounded by Republicans and fiercely creative, the desire to assert your separateness must be immense. Oklahoma’s Evangelicals lay on echo, tremolo and wispy vocals that trail off like fumes. “Psychedelic” is the term used most frequently in the band’s advance buzz, but its busy mix of sounds takes a less aggressive route to altered consciousness than what generally wears that label. “What an Actress Does Best,” with guitar suddenly unleashed, is the closest to a conventional rock song, though still eccentric. You’d call it soft rock if it weren’t so hard on the head. That’s a compliment, by the way.
—Doug Taylor
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
