Evans the Death
Expect Delays
Slumberland
If she’d been around four decades ago, Katherine Whitaker might have become a tender chanteuse in the tradition of Brit-folk greats Sandy Denny (Fairport Convention) or Maddy Prior (Pentangle). But the other three members of London’s Evans the Death have different ideas, matching her sweetly melancholy voice to rougher, unlikely textures, producing seriously exciting sounds.
“Terrified” and “Enabler” are grubby, rumbling rock and roll that turns profound unease into an exhilarating raveup, while “Don’t Laugh at My Angry Face” captures the tortured howl of grunge without succumbing to tired ’90s nostalgia. Even the jangly, more traditional title track boasts enough offbeat touches to feel fresh. While the band may take its name from the gravedigger in Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood,” this stellar sophomore album is bursting with noisy vitality.
