mp3: Evangelicals – “Skeleton Man”

There are plenty of worse problems to have than lofty ambitions. On Wednesday night at Brooklyn’s Union Hall, it became clearer than ever that the biggest problem at the hands of Oklahoma quartet Evangelicals is that their skills can’t always reach as high as their ambitions.

Released in 2008, sophomore record Evening Descends was a brilliantly trippy musical experience that combined the more theatrical aspects of glam with elements of Queen, prog and modern indie rock. It sounded like very little else, and its 11 songs flowed seamlessly. Every minute of Evening Descends seemed to ride a fine line of brilliance and complete mess, and singer Josh Jones pushed his desperate falsetto beyond its’ limitations.

Within the opening seconds of their set, presenting a new song, I felt like I was in store for a disaster. The elements weren’t coming together correctly, and with all of the crazy lighting and fog, it was recipe for musical tragedy. Then out of nowhere the band blended the opener into “Party Crashing” and restored my faith. For the entirety of their performance, the band was hit and miss. For every moment of cringing where Jone’s voice failed to hit a note in “Midnight Vignette” there was something epic like the haunting “Bellawood.”

This is a place I believe Flaming Lips once existed—a band with limited technical skills going for something grand that seems to be just beyond their grasp. If they continue to challenge and push themselves forward, Evangelicals really have the potential to be something really special, and on record they’re already pretty much there.