(6-track EP/ 2002)
'I was in a commune and I escaped to the circus' drawl the opening words to the opening song of nutterage 'Circus,' which is a brief intro to the crazy imaginations and talents of 4-piece band The Evangelists, who formed in Feb 2002.
'Microwave Man' is the highlight, and 'Metal Hammer' magazine has too deemed it so irresistible that it's going to appear on one of their cover-mount compilation CDs as frontman Eamonn McColgan raves 'We're gonna explode! There's a bad man inside my head'� before the intensity relents and he conversely begins to coo 'The boy is dead, the boy is dead' as if paying homage to David Bowie's vocal versatility. But to describe the music of these 4 Evangelists isn't for the faint-hearted as it sounds to be influenced by every single genre of music these Irish boys have ever heard.
For the large-part Eamonn's full-on vox and the punishing rock sound provided by guitarist Liam, bassist Eoghan and drummer Craig do ensure that if they ever get nowhere with their music ('though there is little chance of them not succeeding when they're this awesome), there'll always be room for them as a System of A Down tribute band - they DO sound that much like them. And very few bands dare even try to imitate the mighty SOAD� but not to suggest that that's where interest in this band's music stops. It doesn't, as Eamonn pushes his voice through every motion going and in turn manages to remind of Mark E. Smith, flighty Canadian singer Hawksley Workman, and then elicits Ian McNabb-tuned soul through the wicked 'Ganjii' hellfire that takes a ska-rap route to the sound of King Prawn and back, always playing with musical extremes and brandishing huge hardcore grooves one second before bringing it down and mellowing out.
If you know and love the madcap Sack Trick you'll love and laugh at Community Love Songs's well-meaning idealism, along with Slob King's tongue-in-cheek glory. Yep, this band could get away with writing a song about a boy who gets high while watching paint dry and make it interesting. Hey, wait a minute - hmm, that could be interesting. No, but you know what I mean, and the electric version of 'Hermit' is the proof, Eamonn comically declaring in Hermit-ized voice 'I eat my own faeces, I drink my own urine.'
It's foot-stomping (think a harder-edged Coral. Nope you'll have to think harder than that!), epic eccentricity all the way. And man is it fucking ace!! (STEVE RUDD)
www.theevangelists.tk E-MAIL� [email protected]
Tel: Eamonn� 07759 964204
Also visit the following site for more info on the Northern Island music scene� www.fastfude.com