Labels: Tiny Engines
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Aha! It took a while, but here is the first band for me that has come out of the north eastern USA midwestmo revival that’s made a really accomplished LP that will probably be considered a keystone of that scene several years down the line. Everyone Everywhere positively bounce through this 30 minute voyage of goodness, opening up on the under-stated slow groove of Tiny Planet, I love when the bass winds up and punches on in and then the guitar joins the fray, and the vocals too. It’s like a polished up version of 30 Degrees Everywhere era Promise Ring, which is a delight to these ears. The band has come on in leaps and bounds from their enjoyable 7″, and on this album rarely drop the ball over it’s course. Particularly of note for me are the strong vocals, that kind of sound like a mix of Davey vB and Mike Kinsella. Other songs are poppier perhaps, but that’s certainly not an issue for me. The guitar work is rarely frustratingly technical, favouring power and drive, which again is pretty much exactly what I want to hear. It’d be very easy to write a track by track summary on this record as each song has something that makes it stand out. I mean, the song I am listening to at this precise moment is “Tiny Town” and I am thinking “this is definitely my favourite track on the LP!” but you can be certain that a little later in the record I’ll have picked another instead. And next time through it’ll be different again. “Tiny Town” barrels on through after opening with a gentle emo waltz a head rush of spiralling guitars and bullish rhythm. A lot of fun indeed. Only real niggles for me are the occasional tendency for gang vocals, if you know me you know that’s a real bugbear of mine. Cheesy as fuck, and I wish bands would stop doing it, leave that the dorky melodic hc bands with their sweaty bro sessions in the pit. However, in the bigger picture, that’s just a tiny detail buried in the corner that I can easily overlook if I am not paying too close attention.
This does sound like it takes plenty of cues from the various Promise Ring epochs, and it works them in with occasional cutesy American Football twiddles, forming a fine album, jammed with enthusiasm, energy and good time tunes. But whilst owing a considerable debt to the past, this album feels anything but dated. It is fresh, it is fun, and I am just glad to hear a current band dipping into that period and cherry picking elements that I really enjoy before blending them in with their own thoughts and ideas.
I think it’d be a great album to drive to, cruising cross country with the window wound down. I think Summer is calling me.