Like so many musical projects which are now emerging with the fruits of their labour, Evidence of a Struggle, according to their bio, ‘began in 2020 during lockdowns’. This ‘ambitious effort’ sees William P C Simmons aka Rev. Billy ‘play every instrument – guitar, drums, piano, synth and violin - recorded and engineered from his home studio, The Glue Factory. With Covid restrictions lifted, he began working with Sanford Parker (Voivod, Russian Circles, Yob, Eyehategod, Wovenhand, Darkthrone, Youth Code, Pelican), who helped produce and record the final versions of the songs for this record, as well as mastering’.
Well it certainly pays to be connected! And so it is that Billy – with valuable assistance –dwells at the core of an evolving musical collective, and this eponymous debut straddles a range of genres while being broadly alt-rock.
The last thing I expected to hear was a take on the classic 90s baggy beat, but that’s the rhythm that drives the album’s opener, ‘Sal-e’ along with a springing energy. There’s a certain vintage vibe about it in the spindly lead guitarline, too, but this is an album with range and many hues and flavours.
Across the album’s thirteen tracks, Billy wanders through many scenes. Being instrumental, but essentially a rock album, it does have certain pitfalls. The songs are well-realised and sound like a full band… minus a singer. And while post-rock works instrumentally, rock feels like it’s missing a key element. The end result, then, is a solid album: I simply cannot fault the songs or the musicianship: there’s dynamic and drive, texture, everything, and the songs are concise, tight, structured, all around the four-minute mark and with clear parameters.
|
‘Bisquee’ is brilliant, rolling drums and soaring guitar work, and piano drops in on numerous occasions on Evidence of a Struggle, an album which shows immense ambition. ‘’Casting’ layers up the guitars – and the feedback – to powerful effect, and you feel yourself carried on a wave of energy.
But despite the structure, and all the rest, it just feels as if something is missing. I’ve been sceptical of reviews that criticise a release for what it is not, rather than what it is, but here it’s hard. These feel like songs that are complete minus singing, and vocals would likely bring the vital hooks and the details which would render this ultimately more memorable. There isn’t a weak tune in this set, and Billy brings back-to-back solid tunes here, and Parker’s production is outstanding. But, ultimately, it’s the musical equivalent of pizza without the cheese.
|
