The opening, somewhat maudlin violins of Evan Williams‘s debut album – released through Peter Doherty‘s Strap Originals imprint – are merely a hint to what is to come on The View From Halfway Down. First track proper, ‘The Dog House’ certainly nods not only towards Doherty’s seminal band The Libertines but also indie/goth rock legends The Cure, while the more ramshackle ‘Ride On‘ is more evocative of The Gun Club, if they’d formed this side of the pond instead of plying their trade in the sweaty fleapits of downtown L.A.
Williams has a vocal style that is half-spoken, and half enchantingly soulful. The fact that his lyrics are often mesmerisingly poetic makes this a winning combination, and when they are juxtaposed with such an uplifting musical nuance, on songs like ‘Kindred Sin‘, this is when The View From Halfway Down really sparkles in its own right.
There’s a deep yearning on a lot of the numbers held within, most notably ‘Traffic Lights‘: “I crossed every road at night, and didn’t look twice at the traffic lights“, perhaps suggesting a spurned lover, numb from the rejection, or maybe from the pain of unrequited love itself. There are shades of bands like Maximo Park and The Wedding Present in here, which is rather endearing, as is the heart-wrenching ‘indie-ballad’ that is ‘The Ending‘, which, above all else, makes it abundantly apparent what Pete Doherty saw in Williams that made him want to sign him up. It’s like an alternative ‘My Way‘ for the Netflix generation.
As the accompanying press release here so eloquently puts it, “Evan Williams has embraced the power of his own narrative and over the course of 10 songs explores themes of love, loss, self-loathing, addiction… and Bojack Horseman.” That last comment alone is enough to sell it to me – I LOVE Bojack Horseman, but fortunately, the Kentish singer-songwriter goes even deeper than that, and understands the concept that “what you leave out is as important as what you leave in”, so the sparse ‘I’ll Stick Around‘ for example, is twice as affecting in its starkness.
‘For Anyone‘ is a pretty piano-led admittance of a dogmatic refusal to accept change or, indeed, the need to do so, and the title track’s dramatic opening leads us eventually into a feral, anguished tirade that has a weird, ‘Marty Robbins trail song’ kind of feel to it, which only makes it more appealing.
By the time the dulcet tones of ‘Ten Fifty-Four‘ close the lid on this ten song set, which quickly descends into debauchery and the musical equivalent of a 21st century Shakespearean tragedy, we are left in no doubt that Evan Williams is a major talent indeed and that The View From Halfway Down is most likely the first step towards a hopefully long, successful career.
The View From Halfway Down is out now on Strap Originals.
You can catch Evan on tour over the next few weeks, as follows:
April
15 Leeds – Crash
17 Letchworth – David’s
18 London – Dash the Henge
20 Glasgow – Assai
20 Edinburgh – Assai
21 Newcastle – Reflex
22 Bristol – Exchange
29 Kingston – Banquet (matinee show)
29 Chelmsford – Hot Box
May
14 Brighton – Strap Originals at The Great Escape
