As a Music Writer (I hate the term “Music Critic” or “Music Journalist”) it is always really nice when a band reach out to you. It’s even better when they make music that you really really love.

I believe you shouldn’t use age or any of those factors when talking about musicians. It doesn’t take anything away from their music, but Evol are pretty young. But they are also pretty damn amazing.

The singer, Kevin emailed me maybe an hour or so ago. He’s from Burlington. It’s in New Jersey. You may or may not have heard of it. When a band on the other side of the world reach out to you, well, it’s a nice feeling. It’s nice knowing someone is paying attention to you. So you must return the favour. I had to return the favour, I couldn’t ignore such a band at all. The music Kevin and his friend Luke make is brilliant. Two people making a LOT of noise. You know how I love duos who make noise. The Kills started all that a long time ago for me. It is something that has stuck, and I’m glad it has. I can’t imagine not having that as one of my music based habits.

Evol make music that will gloriously melt your brain. They unleash a lot of fury, which is understandable. Kevin told me that where he lives, people are either into death metal or 2 Chainz. And I thought where I live was bad. We all face our own battles, right?! They are influenced by Sonic Youth. There aren’t many shit bands that are influenced by Sonic Youth. It is like Sonic Youth were put here to influence and bring out the best in budding musicians. I think, by judging Evol, they’ve filled their purpose and much more.

The thing that really sold me was that Kevin has only been playing guitar for just over a year. In such a short time he’s managed to create his own noise that you cannot help but want more and more from. There’s also one other thing that really touched me. Kevin is influenced by Punk Rock. The good stuff. The genre that taught a generation to speak up and take no shit from anybody. The genre that spoke to so many; and still does. It is not dead, a lot of band still carry that Punk Rock ethic with them. You don’t have to be in a band to do that, you can apply it to everyday life; to just keep on going. But, Kevin said something that I thought was truly beautiful about Punk Rock, and also makes me believe (and hope) that Evol go far with their music. He said this: “Punk Rock taught me that I don’t have to live up to African-American stereotypes.” It is sad that we live in a world where we have to live up to what is expected, but you know what? Thank goodness for Punk Rock to save our souls and teach us important lessons such as not giving in to those stereotypes.

You can listen to Kevin and Luke’s music here: https://soundcloud.com/#covert-bummer You should play it pretty loud. It’ll infect your brain in a good way. Always in a good way. They’ve done a brilliant cover of Sonic Youth’s  Silver Rocket. Oh and their own song Solitude is beautiful also. They don’t just stick to one style of music. They mix lo-fi with ambient vibes and hints of Krautrock. I love them. I just love them.

(Oh and Kevin agrees with me that The Jesus And Mary Chain are better than The Beatles. Not many hold this opinion, but it’s good to know that someone else shares it. It’s a shame we live in a world where disliking them is wrong. We can all have an opinion, remember that. Be nice.)