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Everyone Everywhere

Everyone Everywhere (2012)

Written by: DR on 12/12/2012 15:56:03

Upon the release of their second LP, "Everyone Everywhere (2012)", Everyone Everywhere set aside 100 copies of the physical version and offered them to fans for the 'pay what you want' price. They 'sold' them all within 24 minutes. Clearly, Everyone Everywhere are not a band to take this whole making music thing too seriously. They present themselves as the kind of band who have fun making music and want to share that with their fans in as honest a way as possible.

It's that kind of honesty that made their first LP, simply titled "Everyone Everywhere", such an infectious, light-hearted and fun release, and even helped make lyrics about pulling faces in the mirror, sailing around the world in a tiny boat, and getting you and your friends lost because you lied about knowing the correct directions such strong hooks. Hell, even a rather plain lyric like "Heyyyy, I've got bigger fish to fry" was made to be of the strongest hooks of 2010 through their fantastic vocal melodies. Their penchant for a good hook, their enthusiasm, and their friendly indie sound carries over into "(2012)".

If you've listened to Everyone Everywhere before then you know what to expect: jangle-y rhythm guitars and technical, spacious lead guitars, indulgent instrumental passages and quirky vocals that sound great because of how unassuming and warm they are. "(2012)" is not a great progression from the revivalist emo/indie sound, vaguely somewhere between American Football and Weezer, that they've carried throughout their career so far. However, "(2012)" marks a refined sound and more revealing lyrics. Though still infectious and filled with solid hooks, Everyone Everywhere are not quite as fun this time around, which is largely down to the lyrics being more personal than they have been before, but that doesn't mean they are any less worth your time.

An important difference between the first LP and this one is that the penultimate song on "Everyone Everywhere" was titled "I Feel Fine", whereas "(2012)" opens with a song-title like "I Feel Exhausted". A gradual swell of post-rock-ish music in the opening two minutes gasps to erupt beneath the quiet vocals, and when it finally does the result is one of their most emotive and dynamic songs to date. The whole album has a sense of catharsis about it, but that's the most cathartic on this release and also the best. The rest of the album doesn't follow the same pattern, and is instead mostly more relaxed in its build up and dynamics, often opting to create warm and inviting soundscapes. Cuts such as "$1,000,000,000", "Turn & Go & Turn" and "Big Hat" are the best examples of this, and contain the kind of infectious melodies that Everyone Everywhere have always done so well.

Overall, "Everyone Everywhere (2012)" is exactly the kind of album you would have expected Everyone Everywhere to release. There are not great strides in progression, but it is a band refining their sound. Typically for this band, a few really great songs do stand out above the pack, but the song-writing is consistently solid. If you have listened to Everyone Everywhere before then you know what you're getting. If not: you could do a lot worse, especially if the reviving emo/indie scene interests you.

Download: I Feel Exhausted, Turn & Go & Turn
For The Fans of: Joie De Vivre, American Football, Deer Leap, Weezer
Listen: Bandcamp

Release Date 07.08.2012
Self-Released