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05/02/2016

everett’s new EP - 'In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb'

By J.M. Black // Medford band has figured out a way to set itself apart from all the other Indie-alternative bands that share its sound.

In a genre where mundanity, repetition, and simplicity are counted as strengths, everett––from Medford, Oregon––has figured out a way to set itself apart from all the other Indie-alternative bands that share its sound.

everett’s recently released EP In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb comes with five diverse tracks of self-reflection and hard questions. Within its hard, and sometimes rough, melodies, beauty is easily recognizable within each song.

“Worthwhile” introduces the listener with a light guitar melody that’s quickly layered with crashing drums and thick bass-lines. “I don’t know where I’ve been lately,” singer Tim Stickrod sings, “I just know it’s somewhere far from here.” In the background drummer Evan Kunze’s shouts can be heard as faint echoes, letting the words linger for one second longer. The song hesitates but never fully stops as guitarist Micah McCaw’s uplifting riffs reinforces the melody and theme within the four-and-a-half minutes.

In “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” McCaw carries the listener through a heart-racing riff that compliments Stickrod’s sincere vocals. The repetitious riff breaks into a wild cacophony of instruments, leading up to an unexpected bass melody, delivered by Grayson Phelps, that sets the song apart from all the others in the EP, even the genre as a whole. Though this is the shortest song in the EP, it packs enough of a creative punch that makes up for its length.

Slowing down the listener’s heart in “Never Be Good Enough,” Stickrod sings about stark, relatable truths. During the parts that slow the song down even further, Kunze keeps the song’s time by proving that control is just as necessary as chaos. The song spins into a long silence filled with soothing guitar and bass, only to be picked back up with monotonous vocals that are harmonized with scintillating screams.

everett holds true to the Alternative genre by fluidly blending repetitious sounds that symbolize walking through life full of more questions than answers. The journey, reflection, and pondering are as crucial as the answers themselves. “Harvest” reinforces these facts.

Stickrod sings, “Tend the flock. Plant your seeds. Give them what you think they need.” The listing lyrics emphasize the arduous task of working so hard for something that might not yield any results. Gliding guitars and softer drums eventually die away to let Stickrod ask, “Are we bearing any fruit? Tell me, what will harvest yield?” He repeats these lines as the instruments build up into a frustrated yet resolute climax of sounds.

“Chosen,” a seven-minute conclusion to the EP, nearly brings everything to a halt with the introduction of a stoic, forlorn tune. The questions asked and observations made displays an audience spanning farther than just the listener.

“Am I chosen, or do I make a choice?” These words reverberate throughout the listener, reaching to the very depths of one’s soul. Stickrod’s vocals are more than authentic, they’re representative of a generation, of man. Kunze’s screams come just in time as effects creep over the guitar, the bass, even the drums. McCaw employs a distortion that resounds until the end of the song.

“Chosen” may be the song that defines everett, but it won’t hold the band in place for very long. In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb immerses listeners into moments of pondering, delight, and intense reflection. everett is not as simple as the Indie-alternative genre makes itself seem.

everett is currently on tour with Listener and will be playing with a variety of other bands on the road, including Comrades from Richmond, Va. They kicked the “Northwest Minotour” off at the Eaden Ballroom in Grants Pass and will be going as far as Colorado Springs. Throughout the tour their EP will be available in hardcopy, but it can also be digitally downloaded from their website at thebandeverett.bandcamp.com. 

Their tour ends back at the Eaden Ballroom in Grants Pass on May 18.

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