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    The Phantom Tollbooth 2003/The Evan Anthem
    The Evan Anthem — Prologue cover

    The Evan Anthem

    Prologue

    (2003)

    Reviewed by Len Nash

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    Label Mono Vs. StereoThe Phantom Tollbooth2003
    emomodern rockpost-hardcore

    Innovative, but not quite brilliant, The Evan Anthem's Prologue mixes together melodic, emotive, and gruff rock. Blend it just so and it would be shining, but it needs some work, mainly on vocals. The vocals are horrible on "While Retrieving Military and Mexico." Elsewhere on the CD they improve, but they don't quite get off of a frogish, plugged-nose sound. The instruments are the shining point and that is where the innovation works.

    It is hard to pinpoint an exact sound or influence, but The Evan Anthem does incorporate certain elements from Sparta, Elliott, Train, Travis, and Element 101. There is a male lead, plus less of a punk/pop feel and more of a melodic/gruff rock feel. The Evan Anthem members are talented, but when they do something off-key or off-tempo, it just screams out. This might be a hard kind of music for some people to stomach, but supporters of indie labels and experimental emotive rock bands may want to get behind Prologue, a debut release that shows talent and lots of effort.

    Other coverage for this album

    Decapolis September 2003Reviewed by Tyler BaberSolidity is more or less all one can expect from modern rock music as a whole. A strong album, song, or sound doesn't necessarily need to push any boundaries or leave a lasting impact on the listener, but it must be solid. Solidity in music means more than all of the instruments are in tune and playing to the same time signature, it means the song/band/sound stands out as something inherently…

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