John Evans Band - Circling The Drain

Working for Silent Uproar, it is probably obvious to everyone that one of my passions in music is alternative and indie rock, but what doesn’t get shown is my other passion, Texas music. Growing up and living in Texas my entire life, I came to appreciate good ole country, and in college I discovered what Texas musicians could do, not only falling in love with the old classics like Willie and Bob Wills but also a new breed of country artists that were sweeping the state. So when I got the chance to review an album by a local artist with some country influence, I jumped at it and didn’t live to regret it one bit. I’ll admit that I was a little surprised at what I heard when I put Circling The Drain in my stereo. Looking at the venues and locales of the live shows on the bands site, I believe them to be pretty country, drawing on the old time roots and mixing it with a little rock’n’roll to get their sound. What I heard was much different. But not at all in a bad way because as with any genre or uprising of music, Texas Country and Texas music has picked it’s front runners and sometimes suffered from copy cats that explore the same sound, traveling down roads worn thin with wear. John Evans isn’t so much country as he is the bastard son of Johnny Cash and the Reverend Horton Heat. You wouldn’t be shocked to find him in the nearest country dive, and you wouldn’t be shocked to find him playing in the background of Swingers. Opening with “Quicksand,, John immediately catches the ear. You hear the twang of country, the swing of Brian Setzer, and the power of rock. “House Of Cards” deals a stellar hand, and the penny in the foundation is rewarded with “Wishing Well,” leading into the albums strongest track,“Truly Untrue.” Switching gears the disc takes the tempo and feel to the martini lounge with the relaxing and somber “No More Happy Endings” and the eloquent “Endlessly Blue.” “Four Piece Band” recounts the romance of being poor and on the road but having the time of your life, and the albums ends where it begins, firmly in its Texas roots with “Swattin’ Flies.” I would be hard pressed to decide what rack to put this album on if I was working at a music store, and therein lies the secret to its success. You get the feeling the band could have made a straight country album or a straight rock album, or even a straight swing/rockabilly album and had some pretty decent results. But the sum of the influences is greater than its parts, and what results is a very strong album full of good songwriting, good melodies, and most importantly great fun. [www.johnevansband.net]