The Evens - Cut From the Cloth
The Evens are one of the many
projects from Washington D.C. DIY-music legend Ian MacKaye. After the break up of the inimitable Fugazi in 2001, MacKaye and his wife Amy Farina began playing together, with MacKaye on baritone guitar, and Farina on drums. They've since released a number of albums, and toured extensively. The band first came to fame when they released a children's song for an educational internet show in 2003, and since people didn't know that Fugazi was broken up (as they sort of just disappeared for a few years), rumors were rife. The Evens have a really interesting sound, both in timbre (as the single baritone guitar, drums, and vocals is quite unique) and harmonically; MacKaye has a really great ear for interesting sounds, and incorporates them in this band in more traditional pop structures than in his earlier bands.
Listen to Cut From the Cloth by The Evens here.
This song is the opening track
to the band's 2006 album Get Evens, and was one of the first songs I discovered from the group. It immediately reminded me of the really early Against Me! release Vivida Vis, as it has a sort of simple, folky element, but with the clear influence of 20 years spent playing punk/hardcore/post-hardcore/emo. The vocal are catchy, and the back and forth between MacKaye and Farina works really well. Their voices are so different, and the change in timbre helps keep the songs feeling really fresh all the way through. The baritone guitar is also a great choice timbre-wise; it provides a nice, heavy low end, but still allows for big chords, and full sound.
