Everything Everything are an English based art rock band who formed back in late 2007, and have released 3 albums since then. The band are known for their intricate and complex song writing, which in many ways reminds me of the variation of styles found in the music of fellow England based rock band Radiohead.
Get To Heaven, the band's third album, and arguably their best project to this point, sees the group combine elements of a plethora of different genres including pop, glitch pop, rock, electronica, synth-pop, and many others into their own distinctive sound. It's fair to say that Everything Everything took some of the most popular music genres and subgenres, threw them into a pot, and with the outcome recorded this album. However, it's much more complex and impressive than something as simple as that. From the get-go, the groovy dance based tracks will either get you moving, or get you dancing, and the first two tracks, To The Blade and Distant Past, are great examples of that.
Perhaps my favorite track on the album, Blast Doors, is a track that kicks off sounding in many ways like a drum n' bass song, before transitioning into a chorus that showcases lead singer Jonathan Higgs vocal range. Throughout the album, Higgs vocal ability is one of the many highlights, but is also one of the things that may cause some hesitation upon first listen. Higgs falsetto vocals can seem a bit nasally at points, but not to the point that it distracts, or takes away from the album.
The groups talented song writing ability is on display with the tenth track No Reptiles which features a very bouncy instrumental alongside some very distant vocals and a bit of backing piano. The song is written about feeling very different than your cohorts, or, as Higgs puts it "it's alright to feel like a fat child in a push chair, old enough to run." The blunt and obvious lyricism is catchy, as well as being a bit humorous, and you won't find many artists that will find you singing a chorus about a fat child.
The closing track, Warm Healer is yet another interesting cut, as it's math rock influence is clear due to the odd time signatures used by the band as well as some very abstract chord progression. Despite the fact that these elements are very rarely found in pop music, it doesn't stop the band from blending them into a melodic and poppy tune.
As if the fantastic track listing isn't already enough music for you, the deluxe version of the album features an extra 6 songs, and for me, it was worth the listen for the song We Sleep In Pairs alone, as the slow paced song reminds me in some ways of early music from Nashville based garage rock band Kings of Leon. President Heartbeat is another highlight of the deluxe side, as it's one of the more upbeat dance takes on the album and is also extremely catchy.
Everything Everything's progressive pop rock sound shows just where they plan on taking pop music, and it's not in a direction where you'll find very many bands take it. In the same way that groups like Animal Collective, Alt-J, and many others have blurred the lines of genres while taking inspiration from pop music, Everything Everything throws their name into the hat of diverse art rock groups.
With that being said, for quite some time I've been looking for an album that can challenge the likes of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and Sufjan Steven's Carrie & Lowell for the title of album of the year, but it wasn't until now, with Everything Everything's newest album, that I've heard a project that can. While I obviously wouldn't put it on par with those albums in terms of raw-emotion or meaning, it's in a class of it's own with it's catchiness and genre bending sound. It's becoming clear that this band has a bright future ahead of them, and if they can continue recording albums like Get To Heaven, there's no reason to believe that they won't be successful.
Rating: A-
Favorite Tracks: To The Blade, Distant Past, Regret, Blast Doors, Zero Pharaoh, No Reptiles, Warm Healer
Least Favorite Tracks: None
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