Local band Everyday/Everynight’s new album, “etc.,” comes by its name honestly. The record’s nine tunes cover a wide swath of musical ground, generally centering on a happy marriage of shimmering, atmospheric pop to angular post-punk romps.
Opener “Breathe Deep” does just what its title says, coming to life with a gorgeously simple guitar paired with gentle and pretty vocals by singer Evan Ashby. Classic rock aficionados will hear shades of a less-portentous Pink Floyd with undercurrents of simple singer-songwriter craft in the Jeff Buckley mode.
Next up, Everyday/Everynight indulges its New Wave inclinations with “Body Electric,” sounding like vintage Wire or Clash with a yelping vocal and Austin Lyon’s urgent drumbeat. Ashby can’t help that his yelp sounds like Thom Yorke at times, though the verse’s grandiose melody sometimes recalls Radiohead’s (long-past) glory days — whether intentional or not.
Things turn quiet again with the subdued “Lolita,” which shuffles along with understated percussion and dense instrumental textures that build to a dreamy crescendo, lyrics scolding an object of prior affection (presumably) that she should be ashamed of what she has done.
“An Ellipsis” is a sound collage of tinkling wind chimes and processed sound effects, leading into “Memory #3’s” two minutes of a mostly tuneless acid doodling. That tune suddenly takes a left turn at the two-minute mark, becoming a nicely chaotic garage screamer.
“I (Cannot) Sleep” is a 14-second blast of punk with heavily reverbed vocals and a pounding drumbeat — a mood quickly offset with “Music for Five Musicians’” pretty ringing guitars and similarly sweet falsetto vocal.
The sprawling “It’s Real” showcases Ashby’s vocal versatility with a smooth and sincere delivery, while the final track, “You’ve Died in a Dream,” is a rollicking, Strokes/Arcade Fire-style strummer in a ’60s vein.
Versatility can be a cohesive virtue, and Everyday/Everynight has hit on the right way to combine various approaches. “etc.” sounds like a band comfortable in its own skin.





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