Thereís just something about the intro to Eveningís ìVivixcî (could I get a spellcheck with that, please?), with its Public Image Limitedís ìDisappointedî vibe that pulls you in from the first listen. These San Francisco lads have been gigging about for a couple of years in the Bay Area and LA and their dark and moody guitarscapes are now ripe for the public picking. Lookout! snatched this quintet up, threw them into the studio to record their debut album, Other Victorians, with Lookout! producer of the moment, Alex Newport, who worked on albums by label mates The Washdown and The Pattern, as well as records by At The Drive In and their spin-off, The Mars Volta. Album opener ìBeing Is Automaticî sets the tone for the album, with washy otherworldly noises leading to a post-rock/Britpop/freakout that sounds like nothing else around. Matt Ristís from the heart vocal treatment is especially strong, adding another level to the bandís sound, especially on ìPlacing You Center.î Eveningís atmospheric guitar textures, paired with their washy noise bits find them fusing aspects of Radiohead, Interpol, and the early ë90s shoegaze scene, but do so in a manner which doesnít make them come off as biters. Which is a good thing, because one of the guys in the band looks like a pirate, and I donít think you want to piss him off.

The Evening
Lookout!

1. Live – A Puntastic Evening To Remember At popscene In SF
2. Live – A Puntastic Evening To Remember At popscene In SF
3. Bochum (Light Up My Life)
4. Western Battle
5. Poison Arrows