Today we have a review of an album created by our own EvilStar. Everybody is Drunk, his sophomore release, is a haunting surf rock project that takes the listener straight to that liminal space after the bars all close.
The opening track, “Change” hits all us 20-somethings in the feels. “How come they don’t even want to hear us out?” is the opening line that sets the whole tone of the album. It’s all about unheard people who live their truth, and the powers that be are just blind to it. The rich people gentrifying our classic neighborhoods just shop and eat away as our life gets whittled away day after day of labor.
“Another Way, Another Place” strikes me as a song dedicated to moving house. Renters live a transient kind of life, with our temporary leases forming chapters in life that are unique and yet totally blend together. As an added bonus, the lead guitar in the chorus section of the song evokes a nice feeling of hopeful melancholy.
The titular track, “Everybody Is Drunk” really speaks for itself. It’s a musical overture to a drunken room where all the conversations meld together into noise, and everything said is forgotten as soon as it is spoken.
The next track on the album is called “Drag”, assuming this refers to cigarettes. Like the name of the track, the sonic footprint of this song is just so cool. The guitar is sounds like a James Bond theme and the bassline is something that wouldn’t be out of place in Superfly. Really cool.
“In My Mind” reminds me of a folk singer at a bar, you can’t hear what he’s singing about distinctly, it blends in with the ambiance. The guitar is like an old country song with a cool vocal distortion that brings it all together.
If “Everybody is Drunk” feels like a night out, “Blue Skies” is like being alone at the bar. Your amore has gone to the restroom, you look around isolated. Maybe you watch the sports game on TV that you don’t care about, but it makes you seem busy. The song oozes a syrupy sentimentality.
The next track is “The Unsent Letter”. This epic track clocks in at over eight minutes and it still feels like its over too quickly. The lyrical content of this song could be a whole essay in itself. The gist of the song is like a crumpled piece of paper in your pocket, a letter that was meant to be send but just…wasn’t. The page is covered front and back in a handwritten scrawl. It’s filled with beautiful lines, my favorite being this gem,
“I wish I could see the world through your eyes.”
The album closes out with “Uptown (I Love You). Our night has come to a close, the anticipated hook-up didn’t come, the sorrows have been drunk away, the memories fading, and the lovely singer stumbles down the darkened streets to an empty home.
Everybody is Drunk by EvilStar, I am sure, will be an essential indie album one day as the artist grows in recognition. Listen to it and buy it now and you will be able to say you did so before it was cool.
Peace & Love
Sketchy Kids
