Thee Eviltones
Garage rock quartet THEE EVILTONES possess a certain mystique about them that has kept me enthralled in their album ‘In the Shadow of the Beast’. Mixing surf-punk guitars with boutique garage rock, they create a dark, mystical horror punk tone and one not to be mixed up with the likes of early THE HORRORS or COUNT FIVE. The band has created a sound individual to them, pulling it wonderfully to keep the album listenable and engaging throughout.
The album itself mixes BEACH BOYS surf-rock with an almost Mick Jagger-esque (with no intention of referencing Cher Lloyd) swagger. The introduction to the album, ‘Into The Shadow’, begins with amazing flamenco-style acoustics over-dubbed with a narrative setting the tone for what is to come: a dark, mystical journey reminiscent of Scooby-Doo style spookiness and mischievousness. Launching into the dance-crazy surf-rock influenced ‘La Bestia’ and ‘Thee Eviltones’, the journey throughout this album takes on what one would expect of this band to produce. The up-beat, irony of the music mixed with the contradicting melodies and dark lyrics makes for this album to be a very good listen. The standout track (for me) travels in the body of ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, a wonderfully put together track that uses my favourite aspect of the band: a dark, brooding, inconspicuous enigma. The 50s swing, surf-pop influence of the guitar is epitomised in the tracks of ‘Eyes’, ‘Omen’ and ‘Monkey Tree’, highlighting the bands ability to differ in the writing approach to their songs. To further emphasise this, the cover of THE ROLLING STONE’S ‘Paint It Black’ takes on a different approach, and (if anything) is a perfect choice of cover for a band of character. The band catches the dark, ill-feeling of the song and further delves into the darkness of their song-smithery creating an enjoyable cover. However, the finale of the album ‘Monkey Tree’ launches into another dance-frenzy, party number which leaves the listener with the feeling of wanting more. A good thing indeed.
THEE EVILTONES create a superbly and well-presented body of work, one which they should be proud of. The boutique, vinyl style recording really does wonders for the bands representation on record and captures all that they are aspiring to be, and possibly more. These dance-inducing, horror loving lads are surely ones to look out for in the coming year.
To find out more about Thee Eviltones, check out their Facebook page HERE.
And their website HERE.
Words: Noel Horton
The album itself mixes BEACH BOYS surf-rock with an almost Mick Jagger-esque (with no intention of referencing Cher Lloyd) swagger. The introduction to the album, ‘Into The Shadow’, begins with amazing flamenco-style acoustics over-dubbed with a narrative setting the tone for what is to come: a dark, mystical journey reminiscent of Scooby-Doo style spookiness and mischievousness. Launching into the dance-crazy surf-rock influenced ‘La Bestia’ and ‘Thee Eviltones’, the journey throughout this album takes on what one would expect of this band to produce. The up-beat, irony of the music mixed with the contradicting melodies and dark lyrics makes for this album to be a very good listen. The standout track (for me) travels in the body of ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, a wonderfully put together track that uses my favourite aspect of the band: a dark, brooding, inconspicuous enigma. The 50s swing, surf-pop influence of the guitar is epitomised in the tracks of ‘Eyes’, ‘Omen’ and ‘Monkey Tree’, highlighting the bands ability to differ in the writing approach to their songs. To further emphasise this, the cover of THE ROLLING STONE’S ‘Paint It Black’ takes on a different approach, and (if anything) is a perfect choice of cover for a band of character. The band catches the dark, ill-feeling of the song and further delves into the darkness of their song-smithery creating an enjoyable cover. However, the finale of the album ‘Monkey Tree’ launches into another dance-frenzy, party number which leaves the listener with the feeling of wanting more. A good thing indeed.
THEE EVILTONES create a superbly and well-presented body of work, one which they should be proud of. The boutique, vinyl style recording really does wonders for the bands representation on record and captures all that they are aspiring to be, and possibly more. These dance-inducing, horror loving lads are surely ones to look out for in the coming year.
To find out more about Thee Eviltones, check out their Facebook page HERE.
And their website HERE.
Words: Noel Horton