• Band / Artist : The John Evans Band – mySpace
• Genre : Rock / Blues / Pop
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : CD Baby – Outbound Music
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 8 out of 10

“Somewhere beneath a neon sign…” is probably where you’ll find many people one day gazing up at John Evans on top billing at their local venue. The John Evans Band has such a great sound, but I have to say I haven’t come across anyone in a while with such a schizophrenic sound. Within the first 5 tracks, you can hear influences from the likes of Morrissey and T-Rex to Billy Idol, but it’s all on a track by track basis, rather than an amalgamation. It’s also not just the first 5 tracks, it’s the whole album. Normally this would lead to a very disjointed album, but here it works and surprisingly well.

There are a few tracks that have that Morrissey feel, including “Love conquers All” which doesn’t have the usual Morrissey vibe, but just has something that brings him to mind. With “Long Way Home” however, it could be a Morrissey cover with different vocals. Now I’m a big Morrissey fan, so this already weighs in great favor of the album. Actually now I come to think of it, the few pictures I’ve seen of John Evans are an interesting combination of the bespectacled Morrissey of old and the current, stylish besuited Morrissey.

OK enough of the Morrissey references, it’s only a few tracks that have that flavor and this is defiantly more Neapolitan ice-cream than plain vanilla. Other artist references aside, this is an album that has a great feel to it. It’s a bit of rock, a bit of pop ad even a bit of 70’s punk without the pent up anger and aggression. Oh yeah, did I mention reggae/ska? No? Well yes it’s also there too.

With a weighty 14 tracks on the album, you certainly get your monies worth and I mean that most sincerely. If I was to single out a few favorites, they would have to be the previously mentioned “Long Way Home” and “Five Seconds at a Time”, but that’s really trying to nail it down to a few. Every track has something that either lulls, captivates or just plain slaps you upside the head. I think the only oddity on the album would have to be “So Long”, with it’s interesting accapella intro, but even that isn’t a bad track, just very prominent from the rest of the album.

Conclusion : Yes it seems the John Evans band, doesn’t know who they are, or maybe it really is a multiple personality thing, but they just keep doing what they’re doing, as this is fantastic stuff.