Sound Advice: CD Reviews

CD Review:
This is the first release by the pseudo punk band from La Crencenta, California. RCA gave them a contract when they were still in high school so the guys are still quite young. The heart of the band is in their singer/lyricist/bass player Max Collins and their lead guitarist Jon Siebels.

Siebels and Collins were friends at Crencenta Valley High and formed their first band there. In the spring of 1996, Brian Malouf of RCA records came knocking and the band signed up. Two years later, with Tony Fagenson inked to play drums, they released their self titled debut. It seems that a stipulation in the record contract stated that Siebels and Collins had to graduate high school before anything else. Anyways, Fagenson, who is also prolific on piano and guitar, was recruited by Collins and Siebels after they dropped their previous drummer Nick Meyers.

You can thank Fagenson for the band's name as he was a fan of the X-Files. The Eve episode on the X-Files shows a prison that named all its inmates Adam or Eve. Eve 6 (that is the 6th Eve) was a woman that caught Fagenson's attention. She liked to eat the guards eyes out and Tony thought it would make a good name for the band. So they dropped Eleventeen (their previous name) and Eve 6 became their permanent moniker.

Their debut album is what you thought it would be from guys at this age, fast music and songs that speak of angst, rebellion and the wish to be understood by everyone that those two feelings imply. "Leech" and "Inside Out," the two singles off the album, are perfect examples of this. "Leech" describes a relationship where one has power (the teacher) and the other does not (the student). The teacher sucks all life out of the student and never gets to know or understand what the student wants. "Inside Out" is a song about a final break up for similar reasons. The one partner leads the other to leave since her egocentric behaviour doesn't allow her to understand her partner.

Other stand out tracks include "Open Road Song" that is about the feeling of freedom you can only receive when chucking everything and hitting the highway. "Small Town Trap" goes through the emotions one feels when stuck in a dull and uninspiring location.

Overall, Eve 6 is a good record but not outstanding. I picked this album up after Horrorscope, their best release to date, to see if it could match it. It didn't, but it's not surprising as age and experience tends to assist talent.

Eve 6 is an average band that won't blow anyone away. They mix rock in with punk and pop and the fusion is pleasant but doesn't grab you attention to the point where you wait clenched-fisted for their next release. I put them in the caliber of a Marcy Playground or Our Lady Peace, good but not great.

Scott D. Brown