new/old blood – The Evens

Andrew Jacobs here,

If you grew up in the 1980s like me (or even if you grew up in the 1990s), then chances are you’re familiar with the name Ian MacKaye.  During the early 1980s, MacKaye was the singer/frontman for the seminal hardcore punk band Minor Threat, considered by many to be the best hardcore punk band of all time.  Then in 1987, MacKaye picked up a guitar and formed Fugazi, considered by many to not only be the best post-hardcore punk band of all time but also the best band of the 1990s.  MacKaye was also responsible for founding the excellent Washington, DC based record label Dischord Records as well as for coining the term Straight Edge.  He has also sang, produced, played in and/or been involved in some capacity with countless other bands & artists (Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and Ministry’s Al Jourgensen among them), which brings me to his current and most recent band, The Evens.

The Evens is a band which MacKaye formed in 2001 with his now wife Amy Farina.  It consists of MacKaye on vocals & baritone guitar and Farina on vocals & drums.  While their music is certainly much more subdued than Minor Threat and Fugazi, there’s still PLENTY of the subversiveness and pure chaos that made both of those bands so spectacular (not to mention legendary).  Their 2005 self-titled debut has the distinction of being my favorite album of the 2000s.  Get Evens, their 2006 follow up, while certainly a solid effort, was kind of a disappointment for me, especially in comparison to the masterpiece that their first album was.

Last week, The Evens released their 3rd album, The Odds.  And I am very happy to report that I love it.  Great album from start to finish.