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Evergreen

Temporary Residence
Everyone knows what became of the members of Slint following theirsplit. From the Palace Brothers records to Aerial/Papa M to Tortoise tothe For Carnation, all have kept pretty busy and their individualprojects have gotten a fair amount of notice. That is, with theexception of Evergreen, who usually evoke a response of "who?" whenevertheir name is dropped outside of their native Louisville, KY. FormerSlinter Britt Walford joined the band in 1993, adding his powerhousesignature energy to the overall feel of the band which already held afair amount of gumption. Their self-titled debut and only release nowsees well-deserved reissue treatment from Temporary Residence,including two bonus tracks left off the original pressing. Based onSean McLoughlin's yelped meanderings alone, Evergreen deserve a listen,after which the listener (read: victim) will be forever entranced andotherwise sucked in by the infectious tempos and brutal punksensibilities. Those tired of the recent '60s and '70s rip-off revivalbands will feel an immense joy listening to this record, as their toestap, arms sway, heads thrash, and bodies flail against one another. Itsounds like its influences though with an added bit of modern moxy, andfits right along some of the classic records of the punk and post-punkgenres. "Petting the Beast," "Whip Cream Bottle," "Plastic Bag": allhave the ability to tear down walls with their naked aggression. Thenthe funky bass and shredding guitars of "Klark Kent" arrive to bringthe roof in after them. Things slow down a bit with "Sweet Jane" (no,not that one) and "Glass Highway" — both quite good — but it's oflittle consequence: the damage is already done and will return again on"Coyote" just in case there's anyone left alive. The two bonus tracksare both good fun, and fit right along with the rest in winningfashion. All in all, a horribly ignored release now ready for thespotlight, and deserving every bit of the attention.

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