Evans Blue: The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Live Ends
I’m not sure if there is a better rock record that has been released recently than The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends by Evans Blue. Yeah, you remember these guys, the same band that brought you Cold (But I’m Still Here) some time ago are back with an even better record, wordy title aside.
Yes, an argument can be made for recent rock releases, like Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park, Lead Sails Paper Anchor by Atreyu, Untitled by Korn and so on and so forth, but I feel that this latest record from Evans Blue has to rank up there with the best.
Evans Blue really personifies the old adage, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ They return with The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends and really leave their sound untouched; even getting more melodic at points if that is at all possible. Evans Blue has also penned possibly their best song to date in Pin-Up. The piano overlays and soft violin undertones give this song emotional depth. Kevin Matisyn’s picture perfect ballad voice should make this song a favorite in the hearts of many listeners and should work to make it a hit on radio nationwide. Cold (But I’m Still Here) was such a huge success on radio for pretty much the same reason. But, do go thinking that this is the only song on the record, because it is not by a long shot.
In A Red Dress and Alone is a solid track to open the effort since it is one of the heavier tracks on this album, and Q (the Best One of Our Lives) is one of the catchier songs as well. Aside from maybe Chevelle or Breaking Benjamin, Evans Blue writes the best sounding choruses in modern rock music. They have a strong knack for being able to hook the listener throughout the progression of their songs, and that is due large in part to their song writing and song composition abilities. They did it on The Melody and Energetic Nature of Volume and now they have done it again on The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends. I always thought that wordy album and song titles were best left for emo and hardcore bands. I didn’t know that rock bands did it too, but I guess you learn something new everyday. Kiss the Flag (if you buy the FYE version of this disc, you get this track acoustic as well) is another personal favorite due to its subtle metaphorical story about American and the struggles within. My Damsel: A Confessional to My Adversary also houses the heaviest guitar riff on the record. I just thought I should mention that.Buy this record. I was sitting here trying to think of something adversely witty to end this review with, but then I thought, why don’t I just get to the point, and there it is. Grade: AListen To: Pin-Up, Dear Lucid, Our Time Is Right Now
September 20th, 2007 at 8:23pm
Evans blue ROCKS!! GOT SOME GOOD TUNES!