REVIEWS

“Etherial, ambient, thoughtful, sincere, moody are a few adjectives that might fairly describe MIKAL EVANS’ musical style. Rich with thick reverbs, dark, gritty guitar tones and haunting words, her unique musical expression conveys honest human emotion. These are not “hooky”, “poppy” songs. These are songs that challenge the listener to find his or her own meaning and mood in the interpretation of them – hers is a voice, and expression that demands to be taken seriously. Originally from South Carolina and now based in the musical hotpot that is Washington DC, Evans is not your stereotypical, demure southern belle.”

 

Short and Sweet NYC
www.shortandsweetnyc.com

On A Jailhouse…A Kingdom, the the first track–”Dark Hushes Light”–captures the ear. Haunting and slightly chilling, it’s the type of song one would expect to hear at a filled Bowery Ballroom. The country tinge in “That City” leads the song. To me, it detracts from the song. It’s slightly jarring put in place next to the first song. The albums standout track–”Drunkest Hour”–is a rocking, guitar driven song that gets you on your feet–perfect for the early morning preparation ritual. The only track that I wasn’t a fan of would be “Virgin Wind.” While it fits nicely into the album as a whole, the song itself isn’t as enjoyable as the first thirty seconds leads one to think. All together, the album stands as hope for a rising young artist that may someday fall on the radar.

–Tania Katherine

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LABELS: MUSIC REVIEWS

Acting Out, Singing In: Mikal Evans                                 WASHINGTON POST EXPRESS

WHEN MIKAL EVANS moved to D.C., she did not intend to sweep into the music scene, start a band and make a record of romantic but slanted electric folk with a couple of indie-rock session pros.

What she really wanted to do was act.

“I moved to D.C. to do theater,” Evans said.

But after meeting local alt-country musician and Revival frontman Josh Reed, she got a little sidetracked.

“I went to an open mike at Iota and that’s where I met Josh. Josh asked me to sing with Revival at a 9:30 Club show — the Gypsy Eyes [record label] launch party. So I opened their set with one of my songs.”

Now, Evans concentrates exclusively on her songs — a few of which she recently recorded with drummer Jerry Busher (French Toast) and bassist Ashish Vyass (Gogogo Airheart, Dust Galaxy). They’ll be released as an EP, “A Jailhouse … A Kingdom” (Gypsy Eyes), in February 2008.

Evans’ intense tunes evoke the darker rock of PJ Harvey with a folk-country tinge, but her influences are all over the place.

“I’ve been interested in a range of music,” Evans said. “For a while I would get obsessed with one CD: ‘Spirit of Eden’ by Talk Talk, Calexico, a lot of old jazz stuff. Lately I’ve been obsessed with the song ‘Rock With You’ by Michael Jackson.”

Even though she’s put acting on the back burner, Evans is still adjusting to the role of frontwoman.

“It’s so different,” said Evans. “In theater you have the mask of another character — it’s not you up there. You have lines, a lot of rehearsal time, a costume, there’s a fourth wall. So I don’t have that thick skin between me and the audience [when I perform music]. Some shows I’m regrettably nervous.”

Learning to play with a band has also taken some practice.

“I played solo in coffee shops through high school. I guess I dabbled with drummers but I’ve never really had a set band,” Evans said. “Learning to play with a band has been a different game. Playing solo I can zone out and go inward. Playing with a full band you’re all in it together — I can’t go into the other ether world.”

Having recently relocated (albeit temporarily) to South Carolina, Evans has a whole new set of musicians to get used to. Since Busher and Vyass are currently out on tour with one of their other projects, Evans has recruited a new band to play her most recent shows.

“I met the drummer at the local music shop; he teaches drum lessons,” she said. “He’s got a bass player he works with. We started practicing and it worked out. We had a gig in Athens. We play about once a week in South Carolina.”

But the line-up isn’t all that’s changed. Evans’ songwriting goals have moved forward as well.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about … well, when I started songwriting was really therapeutic for me,” she said. “I want to start writing songs that are a little more fun.”