From the Band’s “Music from Big Pink” to, more recently, Bon Iver’s debut “For Emma, Forever Ago,” the “musician goes into the woods” album origin story has become so prevalent it’s fodder for the Onion: “Man Just Going To Grab Guitar And Old Four-Track, Go Out To Cabin In Woods, Make Shittiest Album Anyone’s Ever Heard.”
For his excellent third album as Into It. Over It., Chicago’s Evan Weiss (who’s coincidentally part of another all-time great Onion headline
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) fleshed out what would become “Standards” in near-isolation at a northern Vermont cabin with his drummer/collaborator Joshua David Sparks. Proving why that album narrative is so common, the seclusion had a rejuvenating effect on Weiss—this 12-song indie rock collection is his best work yet.It wasn’t just being away from civilization that made “Standards” his greatest achievement; it’s producer John Vanderslice (Mountain Goats, Spoon). His analog-only approach forced Weiss to go with the flow and just play the parts, resulting in the most organically loose and natural sound. It’s less wonky than the noodling riffs of Into It. Over It.’s last album, “Intersections,” and prettier than the distorted, sometimes-harsh crunch of 2011’s “Proper.” Just listen to some of the freewheeling guitar tones on “Standards” (namely the cathartic outro riff on “Closing Argument” and the gnarly fuzz emanating throughout the best song, “Who You Are ? Where You Are”) or Sparks’ frenetically precise drums (“Adult Contempt,” “Vis Major”).
Weiss’ biggest wins come from his almost novelist-like approach to setting a scene. The way he sings, “They wake up still uninspired with no regrets/Hungover and divorced, they torch their 20s like it’s kerosene” on “Open Casket” evocatively captures when your old friends are stuck in a rut. While his lyrics are always clever (see the “So low/Solo/All alone” turns of phrase on the aforementioned “Who You Are ? Where You Are”), it’s rarely cloying. When he changes the line, “I have the faintest recollection of us” to “fading,” it’s resonant without being sappy. With these lyrics, Weiss’ warm tenor makes the album totally inviting. He sounds like Ben Gibbard if Gibbard weren’t Death Cab for Cutie’s frontman but the friend you talk to on the weekends about records, love and life.
Throughout his career, which includes a résumé of bands so lengthy it might crash Wikipedia (Pet Symmetry and Their/They’re/There are especially worth your time), Weiss has struck gold with smart and relatable songs about figuring stuff out in your 20s. With every release, he’s gotten by on his relatable charm and savvy ear for careful arrangements. Though he might self-deprecatingly sing, “Born too late, I always find my interests remain intact just behind the times” (on lead single “No EQ”), “Standards” feels ahead of the curve.
3.5 (out of four stars)
In concert: Into It. Over It., The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die, the Sidekicks and Pinegrove, Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, at Lincoln Hall.
@joshhterry | [email protected]
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