Crappy Indie Music Blog |
When I first received Everything, Now!'s press packet, I was slightly nervous. A band that advertises themselves as "space gospel" and whose most recent album, Spatially Severed, features a cover photograph of a man in a blue jumpsuit looking very proud of himself, and instead of a head he has a giant inverted crustacean. In my experience, something that wacky can only mean two things - it's really awesome, or it's really terrible.
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Innocent Words |
Spatially Severed is a surreal album in the tradition of the Flaming Lips. A strange mix of toe-tapping percussion, soothing guitar, and interstellar sound effects make up most of the album's sound. It's in the lyrics that Spatially Severed stands alone: songs about labyrinths, the brother of the Prodigal Son being "reincarbonated as a thousand-pound rock," and Venus playing dice are only a couple of the bizarre stories told by Everything Now! Even someone who puts most of the emphasis of the quality of a song on the lyrics like me can enjoy the whimsy of Spatially Severed. You'll find no sappy love songs or teen angst anthems here, only a mix of mythology, metaphysics, and space travel. It’s difficult to characterize this album. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Each individual song is good, but strange enough that you might not be able to enjoy them to their full potential without the benefit of the others. There are no filler songs here, nor are there singles, each song is an indispensable part, without which the album would surely fail. Overall, Spatially Severed is an experience like few albums have ever been. Listen to Spatially Severed in its entirety and you'll understand something that I can't explain in the limited words the English language can lend me. If you like the Flaming Lips (especially Clouds Taste Metallic), Spatially Severed will throw you into an inflatable hamster ball and crowd-surf you to Venus. If you don't like them, Spatially Severed will make a good transition from modern indie to the more surreal. |
| Pop Wreckoning Thu, 29 Jan 2009 |
What if a bunch of goofy stoners put together a band, wrote wacky and spastic (but surprisingly good) songs about life and religion, and had a vocalist who sounds like Neil Young? That would be The Flaming Lips, correct, but Everything, Now! also checks off all of the above without sounding anything like Wayne Coyne’s crazy crewpaloop (the Willy Wonka version of “possy”…copyright, by the way). Apparently there’s room for two bands to hold up the wacky-philosophical-drugged-out-Neil Young banner. The difference between the bands, however, is that even since their early years, The Flaming Lips’ music has always had a certain weight to it that has allowed the band to evolve into the magical, euphoric outfit they’ve been since The Soft Bulletin. Everything, Now! On the other hand, never approach the point where you’re tempted to take them seriously. Even so, their compositional skills and inspired production are seriously impressive. At the root of Everything, Now!’s sound is a basis in the old school folk tradition which, like Neil Young, they blow up with crunchy electric guitars, among other things. Sometimes – for instance, in the opening of “Hello God” – the band even sounds like M. Ward backed up by Danielson Famille. Like with Danielson Famille, there is the religion connection that has Everything, Now! making explicit religious allusions (if not outright retelling a biblical parable) in songs like the aforementioned “Hello God”, as well as “Brother of the Prodigal Son”, “Savior of Sector Ten” and “In Heaven Smoking Trees.” You’d think a band that makes so many religious references would be kind of a heavy listen…but then the next song on the tracklist is “Hairy Ears of Soul Captain Serpentine” or “Save a Life with Diet Chocolate Sprite”. Very heavy indeed. While some bands that write such outright ridiculous songs just come off as annoying, Everything, Now!’s songs are never less than both entertaining and highly listenable, though 16 tracks does begin to feel a little tiresome towards the end of the record. The length is understandable though when it becomes apparent that Everything, Now! just has way too many ideas to filter them down to the trim length of most albums. How could the band let tracks like the snaky “Venus Tossed The Dice” with its quavering chorus of vocals go to waste? And the epic “Oh Yeah” needed to be on there (though it should have been the closer, not pre-closer). Same goes for the whacked out nursery rhyme-like “Alice of Dixie Cup”. Though it’s hard to imagine Everything, Now! ever aspiring to the Empyrean plateau The Flaming Lips have achieved, Spatially Severed proves that should they try to, their reach might just meet their grasp. |
| Tiny Mixtapes by Lukas Suveg |
Everything, Now! Spatially Severed [MFT; 2008] Styles: psychedelic pop Everything, Now! have very proggy tendencies at heart. A lot of the familiar tropes are here — most noticeable are surreal lyrics, bizarre, sprawling concepts, and that, according to the press release, Spatially Severed is the first chapter in a trilogy. The album features a collection of 16 brief pop vignettes. In fact, only one track extends beyond the 3:30 mark, and only by six seconds. This is both refreshing in its concision and frustrating in that it leaves us with several songs that feel incomplete. Spatially Severed focuses on man’s relationship with the universe. The band approaches this through a series of bizarre allegorical tales and a few straightforward songs (see: “Hello God”). A lot of it is very tongue-in-cheek, and indeed humor is often a very effective way to address serious topics. “Alice of Dixie Cup,” for example, is about a woman who accidentally drinks the remains of her daughter from, yes, a Dixie cup. Placing an obtuse, nonsensical song like this immediately before the very direct “Hello God” takes a lot of gravitas away from the latter. Sure, E,N! utilizes the time-tested approach of combining of serious lyrics with upbeat music, but it’s hard to focus on a weighty topic immediately after the previous song’s cartoonish recorded laughter. The music here ranges from straightforward psychedelic pop (“Burden Time,” “Labyrinth”) to lonesome almost-country (“Brother of the Prodigal Son”). Each song is enjoyable, and none of them overstay their welcome. As noted earlier, though, several of the songs could have benefited from a little bit of expansion. Jon Rogers’ voice is a lot more memorable than the instrumental contributions to the record, but it’s not always for the best. He often sounds like a hybrid of Soft Bulletin-era Wayne Coyne, Jack White, and Axl Rose in his prime — not the most desirable combination. Nothing is ostensibly annoying or wrong with Spatially Severed, and that’s why critiquing it has been rather frustrating. There are memorable melodies and enjoyable songs, but it feels ephemeral, not all that original, and just “nice.” For all the surreal, extraterrestrial goings-on on the record, Everything, Now! adhere to pretty basic arrangements and song structures, not truly letting themselves loose. I’m hoping that part two in their trilogy will be more adventurous. http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Everything-Now |
| Terrascope December 08 |
Part Jonathan Richmond, part Julian Cope, part Super Furry Animals, the music of Everything Now, takes traditional song structures and warps them ever so slightly on their latest album “Spatially Severed” , a fine layer of lysergic dust coating the tunes. Take “The Shelter”, a rowdy rock guitar fighting with a swarm of synths and a sing-a-long chorus to great effect. Elsewhere, there is a sixties pop vibe to “Venus Tossed the Dice”, whilst the bar room piano of “Alice of Dixie Cup” is augmented by surreal lyrics and strange vocal backing. Finally “In heaven Smoking Trees”, is a fine psychedelic rocker, distorted and imaginative ending a collection of songs that grow with every listen. |
| Stereo Subversion By Matt Erler December 08 |
| Indianapolis is a truly horrible indie rock market. For a genre that prides itself on against-the-grind thinking and places emphasis on unearthing under-the-radar music, coverage of indie rock in the Hoosier State has been woefully incomplete. Perhaps more ominous for Indiana-based artists than the lack of coverage is Indianapolis’ recent additions to the website that rhymes with “bitch-spork,” who reviewed both Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos’s Animal!/Not Animal! and Grampall Jookabox’s Ropechain unfavorably. I’ve spent four years of my life covering Muncie and Indianapolis music, and I’ve noticed very few seem to take the Central Indiana music scene seriously. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it; no one seems to be listening, outside the small cadre of devoted fans following these great bands around. In my time, I’ve heard a lot of truly awful music and more mediocre music than I can remember. But I’ve also heard some great music. And I’ve heard some great albums. Everything, Now!’s Spatially Severed is a fucking great album. Spatially Severed is Everything, Now!’s fifth full-length release, and as the follow-up to the band’s first misfire (Ugly Magic) it feels like a return to the band’s roots. Everything, Now!’s first true masterpiece was Bible Universe, but Spatially Severed is an improvement even on that. Like all great albums, it doesn’t just exist. It breathes. A lot of the credit here is due to Tyler Watkins, who is producing the band for the first time since Police, Police!. Both Bible Universe and Ugly Magic were painfully under-produced, and Watkins does a good job of tastefully adding embellishments to the band’s arrangements. From the swirling atmospherics on “The Shelter” to the warm, inviting presence of ballads like “Brother of the Prodigal Son,” Watkins has brought this band to life. But the true stars of this record are the band members themselves. For the first time in a while, the band wrote, rehearsed and recorded as a unit, rather than as a Jon Rogers-directed solo project. And they sound lethal. The band’s Bowie-by-way-of-T-Rex formula is back, but the band has found ways to make that sound its own, from incorporating elements of French freak-beat (“The Labyrinth”), country (“Brother of the Prodigal Son”) and AM radio pop (“Save a Life with Diet Chocolate Sprite”). All that genre hopping demands space, and Spatially Severed has a lot of it, ballooning to 19 tracks. While much of it could have been cut, most importantly the awful “Alice of Dixie Cup,” there’s a refreshing amount of transition and movement on this record. It has the lived-in, chaotic feel of classic double albums like Bee Thousand and Exile on Main Street, both of which Rogers told me were heavy influences. When taken in context of the band’s stated intention to create the classic double-album, Spatially Severed comes off as a perfect cohesion of concept, intent and execution. It’s messy and imperfect. But it’s supposed to be. The band’s blatant disregard for America’s booming online singles culture and the ADD generation is what makes Everything, Now! so vital. This music can be ignored, but for the select few who get it, listening to this band is a damn-near-religious experience. Indie rock needs Everything, Now! Everything, Now! might never achieve wider acclaim and that might be okay with them. But it’s not okay with me. And it shouldn’t be okay with the rest of the indie-rock world. http://www.stereosubversion.com/reviews/album-reviews/everything-now-spatially-severed-12-18-2008/ |
| Dagger Zine Dec 08 |
| Indiana bunch (who apparently met at Ball State in Muncie in the early 00's) who sound like they should be from Athens, GA. 16 tunes is too much and they don't always hit the mark but when they are on, they rocket into outer space with a big sound like only pretentious Bowie fans could do. "The Shelter" is one of those tunes, "Venus Tossed with Dice" is another. I like approximately 76.9% of this record. www.mftrecords.com |
| Baby Sue November 2008 |
| When we first slammed this l'il sucker into our CD player our first reaction was...what happened...? Our guess is that folks who heard previous releases from Everything, Now! are likely to have the same initial knee-jerk reaction. Earlier releases from this band were so crazy and out-of-control that it was something like a bizarre assault on the senses. On Spatially Severed the band has obviously toned things down a bit. In most cases when a band takes a milder approach to music, the results are disastrous. In this case...the change actually works in the band's favor. The reason why...is that the somewhat more conventional approach to music makes it easier to understand and appreciate the songs themselves. This band hasn't sold out as they have effectively managed and manipulated their sound to make it more appealing to a wider group of listeners. There's a lot to digest here as the band tosses of sixteen new tunes. The music is in the same general territory as, say, The Flaming Lips...but these folks are by no means a band copying the sound of others. The less busy overall sound makes it obvious that these folks could...if they choose to do so...become rather popular little darlings of the underground kingdom. Can't help but love the song titles: "The Hairy Ears of Soul Captain Serpentine," "Alice of Dixie Cup," "Lifting Waits," "Save A Life With Diet Chocolate Sprite," "In Heaven Smoking Trees." Recommended. (Rating: 5++) http://www.babysue.com/2008-Nov-LMNOP-Reviews.html#anchor174312 |
Kronic (Italy) |
popalternative rock Everything, Now! MFT Records |
| Nuvo |
| "Like the Nuggets compilations of obscure garage rock bands from the ’60s and ’70s, Everything, Now! explores different territory on each track from their new record, managing to sound like — to use some less obscure bands as points of comparison — The Kinks, ? and the Mysterians, Procul Harum, The Who and The Bonzo Dog Band before they’re through. The thing about those collections is that rabid collectors sifted through a lot of dross to find songs with decent hooks and an ineffable (and irreproducible) energy. That E, N! can construct this kind of pastiche all by themselves and leave very few throwaways is all the more impressive." -http://www.nuvo.net/music/article/top-10-indiana-albums |
| Nuvo |
Four stars Great rock ’n’ roll albums often ride on a handful of subliminal moments — the Stones’ country-fried mosey “Dead Flowers,” buried deep in Sticky Fingers; Built to Spill’s Perfect From Now On cut “Untrustable/Part 2,” etc. Spatially Severed’s moment of pure subliminal beauty comes late in the set. When the band ambles blithely into “Save a Life With Diet Chocolate,” you’ll want to skip back and listen to the whole thing all over again. Save for the inexplicable “Alice in Dixie Cup,” there’s nothing here not worth obsessing about. Spatially Severed is Everything, Now!’s best record, period, besting Bible Universe on the strength of producer Tyler Watkins’ production and the strength of the current band lineup. Sounds like: David Bowie, T-Rex, The Zombies |
| Aid A Bet A&A 302 |
Kinda like Royal Trux playing early-70s Rolling Stones (or even early Springsteen), Everything, Now! blasts out rambling, rollicking rock and roll. There's just enough mannered craft to provide a bit of a wink toward the listener, but that's simply part of the fun. What I like is the use of horns and piano and other unabashed old-school sounds. These songs are rendered impeccably modern (and possibly even cynical) by plenty of silliness on the edges--off-key shouting, sing-song choruses, etc. But again, that's the Royal Trux side of the equation. What seems apparent is the respect these folks have for the basics of rock and roll. A good beat, slinky lead guitar and chunky work from the rhythm section. All the extra stuff gets a little goofy at times, but it doesn't detract from the whole. Rather, it lends a bit of a party atmosphere to the disc. Sometimes I think these folks are trying a bit too hard, but on the whole they hit these songs right on the head. |
Leicester Bangs |
Mr. Smith: More psychedelia... but much poppier. The Flaming Lips are an easy reference point. Mr. Jones: Where are they from? Mr. Smith: Indianapolis. Mr. Jones: They sound like they could have come out of Liverpool in the ‘80s with the Teardrops and Wah! They’ve got that life affirming quality that those bands had. Psychedelic, but with lots of big pop themes, and rooted in the ‘60s like nearly every Liverpool pop band. Mr. Smith: I’ve definitely heard it all before, but they pull it off well. They’ve got some top song titles, too. Mr. Jones: I assume you’re referring to “The Hairy Ears of Soul Captain Serpentine”, “Save a Life with Diet Chocolate Sprite”, “In Heaven Smoking Trees”, etc. Am I right in thinking that their singer’s got a bit of the Scissor Sisters yelp going on with his voice - on their Myspace page it says he’s called Ali Baba... Mr. Smith: Magic! Mr. Jones: BOOM BOOM!... Hold on... when did I become your straight man? -http://leicesterbangs.co.uk/oct08-18.html |