Photos: Evangelicals, Greensboro NC (right); Parenthetical Girls, Portland OR (below)

Coming all the way from Oklahoma, Evangelicals finally made a trip back to DC. Fog machines and neon spotlights in tow- maybe the fact that we’re in the month of October isn’t the only reason it feels like Halloween. I noticed a Jack-O-Lantern resting on a stand behind the white-wife-beat-ed bassist. Spooky trans overlapping hard-rock guitar, echoing into each other to bring you out of your element: the vocals of Josh Jones are distinct, but fade out and bleed into synth-y trails. (Think the bastard child of MGMT and Panda Bear).

The entire week before the show, I had ”Skeleton Man” on repeat, digging the catchy intro tapering off into a more psychedelic conclusion. Live, they do it justice, but unfortunately, it follows the recorded version almost to a T. Towards the end of their set, the energy really picked up. ”Another Day” was played with a lot of instrumental breaks (props to Todd Jackson on his performance here), progressing in an unexpected way. The set resolutely ended with a bang. Their latest album, The Evening Descends is definitely one I enjoy and recommend. Although they didn’t surprise me, they surely did not disappoint. Fulfilling my expectations is just fine. Evangelicals stick to what works.

What I found in their opening band, however, was something innovative and staggering. Read the rest…

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MP3: Parenthethical Girls – Gut Symmetries (Deerhoof cover)

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MP3: Parenthetical Girls – A Song for Ellie Greenwich from Entangelments (2008)

Parenthetical Girls just dropped their album Entanglements yesterday, and already they are getting covered by Deerhoof.  Combine that with positive reviews of their album which is basically orchestral music slightly askew/gone awry and a tour extension and you have a recipe for exhaustion.  Hopefully they don’t get swamped and break up before we see what they can really do.  See the extended tour after the jump.

Read the rest…