Evangelicals: The Evening Descends

Label: Dead Oceans

Following up their brilliant debut from two years ago, So Gone, the Evangelicals return with another frenzied, spazzed-out winner. The songs run into each other and move on uncharted paths as they build into a faster spin or collapse altogether (this is a great CD to listen to while biking home late at night). The band manages to be both experimental and fun, mixing an impulsive spirit with wonderfully juvenile lyrics: “Midnight Vignette” channels the joy (and paranoia) of being disobedient, opening with a cocky whisper that “I’m going to stay out late,” only to soon plead, “Please don’t tell my mother, she wouldn’t want to know.” “Stoned Again” is another great track where the Oklahoma trio voices the angst of growing up in the Midwest as they sing, “They’re not my type here . . . I might leave here.” But before they’ve left you might see them “riding shirtless in the back seat of a 93 Suzuki sidekick.” (Margi)