Stephen EvEns appears to be the alter ego of Stephen Paul Gilchrist a drummer, producer and engineer who has toured the world with numerous bands. He is a multi-instrumentalist who performs guitar and vocals, while a full band who includes Jimi Scandal on guitar, Crompton Whesp on drums, Debbie Smith on bass and Josh Perl on Sax and keyboards aide and abet him to bring his latest opus `Here Comes the Lights` to life. The new album welcomes a whole host of Brixton Hill Studio collaborators, including former Echobelly/Curve bassist Debbie Smith, Cardiacs alumni Bob Leith and William D. Drake, plus Hurtling and My Bloody Valentine guitarist and keyboard player Jen Macro.
The album opens with `A Song For Europe` which recalls Stephen`s love affair with this continent. It starts with a variable drum beat and keys and it`s three minute before we enjoy some brief joyous angelic harmonic choral singing. This journey takes us on a quite hypnotic route with all sorts of sonic sounds shared as we venture along with a variety of audio soundscapes leading us out. A gently strummed / picked acoustic guitar accompanies deep vocals that recall a personal reflection on a traumatic experience Gilchrist and his wife Caroline went through on `Firefly`. It`s a gentle tender folk tinged offering with some enchanting strings sprinkled throughout.
`BBQ Head and 7 Bells` is kind of two numbers fused together. `BBQ Head` has a funky vibe with rapped lyrics and kind of sways along whereas `7 Bells` refers to having seven bells kicked out of you, which almost happened to the singer, strangely in my hometown. The track has an uneasy edgy texture with “watch your back man they`re coming to get you” repeated throughout in a sort of gentle threatening manner. An imagined couple at dinner, sitting in silence, utterly sick of each other while not admitting it; the ultimate elephant in the room is shared in `Lazy Eyes`. It`s a dreamy melancholic captivating musing with a guitar outro that had me in mind of Pink Floyd ala Comfortably numb.
`A Tree` is a reflection on a place where the singer and his dog Rudy escape into the autumnal wilderness and marvelling at all that is on show at this seasonal time. It had for me a retro glam like vibe, but that might just be me! There`s almost a shanty feel to `Hello Salty Salty`, which is about a fellow musician who spent much of her childhood on round-the-world boat trips with her bohemian parents, who were frequently naked. A jagged stop start consideration with the title interspersed throughout in a childlike voice.
`A Bee` according to the artist offers more of the high glam appeal of Roxy Music, meets 70s novelty pop, fun and exhilarating and it`s hard to disagree on this oddball outing which is fairly rousing. The album kind of concludes on `Happy New Year` which is usually an opening. Nevertheless, it’s a song of hope that weighs-up the importance of friendship and life. The singer has confessed that he hates New Year, but the last ten years have been the best of his life and so it`s about making everything right for the future. There a moody organ running throughout, with all sorts of electronic clatters sprinkled throughout. The vocal delivery has a sombre moroseness about it and unless I was told , I’d assume it was anything but exuberant.
There`s a radio edit of `A Song For Europe`, not on the album but available on that Swedish audio streaming and media service with a much shortened version which so encapsulates the glorious choral vocals in a much more succinct format which i found wonderfully appealing.
The accompanying press that companioned the release stated that `Here Come The Lights` takes a step into the future, as indie-rock fairy tales are interspersed with psych rock and post-punk sensibilities amidst swooping and motoric guitars, sound effects and metronomic happenings, in these textured vignettes of life. Usually I disregard these pieces, but I thought it really summed up the album in a way that I would struggle to.
I found this album quite eclectic, diverse, varied, quirky but thoroughly engaging.
I know Stephen has a fondness for Syd Barrett and the Cardiacs and there were hints of their influences at times throughout but for me there was unequivocally an Englishness or Britishness about it not in a xenophobic manner but in a distinctive identity. A sort of characteristic quality that i`ve encountered with bands such as XTC, Pulp and The Divine Comedy to a certain degree.
There was something on `Here Come The Lights` that really truly deeply gelled with me and i`m sure if you allowed it to enter your life, it would with you to.
Rating 9/10
