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Evanjack are Scott Cousins and Andrew Lyddon. They both grew up in South Wales unaware of each other’s existence until a love of music formed a friendship many years later creating evanjack. Since then the band have received support and airplay through Bethan Elfyn and Adam Walton and have spent time on the road touring with Benjamin Francis Leftwitch.
Towards the end of 2011 evanjack self released a beautiful debut EP ‘For Susan’ which was recorded at Urchin studios. The EP was produced and engineered by Matt Ingram and Dan Cox who have previously worked with Laura Marling and Fyfe Dangerfield. All four songs on the EP were recorded live to fully capture the emotions of the session.
The EP opens with ‘Scathing’, a song full of soulful vocals, heartfelt lyrics and soothing strings. ‘Easy On You’ is a captivating song that draws the listener in. It also harbors some of the most passionate and emotive vocals of the EP especially as Scott sings “I knock you down to watch you bleed”. Title track ‘For Susan’ is a beautiful song that begins with soft guitar picking and a hushed haunting vocal before the piano and strings arrive to carry the song along at a steady, reflective pace. ‘The Long Walk Home’ ends the EP by further showcasing how talented evanjack are. The first half of the song consists of soft guitar, gentle percussion and heart melting vocals, the second half turns the song into a beautiful crashing noise with chanting vocals bringing the EP to an exciting and positive ending.
This EP has left me crying out for more. I live in hope that there will be a full length album released in the very near future.
More information on evanjack can be found here.
Rating: 8.5/10
Steve Tay - A Musical Priority
Evankjack is the musical collaboration of Scott Cousins (guitar and vocals) and Andrew Lyddon (drums). Although from different musical backgrounds with Scott’s love of folk and Andrew’s passion for punk they were brought together through their mutual obssession for music. Playing nightly in Scott’s basement Evanjack was born and the the boys would occasionally find themselves waking up in a bleary haze, instruments in hand after falling asleep during twilight jamming sessions, having to run straight to a day’s work to pay the bills.
Entering the London folk scene they quickly made headway and went on to support Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Their debut EP For Susan produced by Matt Ingram and Dan Cox (who have worked with Laura Marling, Fyfe Dangerfield and Marques Toliver) will be released on 14th November.
The first track on the EP Scathing opens with soft guitar plucking gathering speed and weight with the introduction of percussion before breaking into the Scott’s soulful vocals. The string accompaniment compliments Scott’s soaring voice and adds even more emotional energy. Scathing is stark but beautiful, The Pigeon Note‘s favourite track of the EP.
Although a lighter sound, third track For Susan emanates a heavier feeling of melancholy. There is a sense of vulnerability in the vocals, another equally moving song on the EP.
The last song The Long Walk Home lulls you into a false sense of calm with a rippling guitar riff and Scott’s soothing vocals, before breaking into a passionate folky outburst two minutes in bringing the song to a climax
- The Pigeon Note
evanjack are a folk duo based in south London comprising of Scott Cousins (guitar & vocals) and Andrew Lyddon (drums). This is the duos debut EP showing off a lot of promise with a collection of soft yet vibrant sounds. The band have a mix of folk and indie elements sounding somewhere between Ryan Adams and Radiohead. There is a soft atmospheric vibe flowing through each track making you feel like you are out in a farmland somewhere in the UK. At the same time the band pour a heap of passion into their delivery and are able to bring out strong emotions through their music.
The EP opens with Scathing sounding like an orchestral version Radioheads early work. The track has a slow indie vibe while the background strings add a depth and solid backbone to the sound. Easy on you has a slow vibe to it that is both jazzy and ambient at the same time. Scott Cousins shows off his vocal talents here with some strong deep notes while Andrew Lyddon’s slightly unconventional drumming gives the song a nice twist. For Susan is a much darker affair sounding something like the Antlers, only with much deeper vocals! The various elements are beautifully constructed to create a powerfully bleak sound scape. The EP closes with The Long Walk Home. The first two minutes of which are a stripped back affair with, for most parts, just an acoustic guitar and soft vocals. The song then takes flight in the last minute, achieving a massive and full sound!
This is a very solid EP with each track full of vibrance, life and atmosphere. This is a very promising debut that suggests there are more great things to come!
- Tomatrax
Discography
evanjack's debut EP "For Susan"
(1) Scathing
(2) Easy on you
(3) For Susan
(4) The long walk home
The band's songs, Easy on you and Hurt have recieved radio airplay on BBC Radio.
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Bio
evanjack are a folk duo based in South London comprising of Scott Cousins (guitar & vocals) & Andrew Lyddon (drums). Both grew up in South Wales, unaware of each other’s existence until a love of music formed a friendship many years later. The contrasting musical backgrounds of the two naturally fused & they have developed a style of writing melancholic songs with a glimmer of hope
and splendour.
They recorded their debut EP ‘For Susan’ at Urchin Studios in July 2011. Produced & engineered by Matt Ingram & Dan Cox (who have worked with Laura Marling, Fyfe Dangerfield & Marques Toliver). The studio opened up a new world of musical possibilities for evanjack & a fresh musical landscape was laid out in front of them. Thriving in this environment the session nurtured the familiar sound of the band & sparked a creative period that saw the songs growing in both sentiment & stature.
It was clear that in order to capture the rising emotion of the session, the songs were going to have to be recorded entirely live, a string section was brought in & with Matt joining the band on an old Wurlitzer Piano the sound had finally grown into what the boys had always hoped for. ‘For Susan EP’ is a journey filled with raw sensitivity, passion and fearful optimism.
With the addition of Redvers Bailey (Bass) & Andy Schrav (Keys) to the line up evanjack’s live performances have grown in confidence, on stage they incite emotion & enrapture their audience with both sombre & epic moments. They recently played a sold out show to over 150 people at the legendary venue The Bedford in Balham to launch the For Susan EP. It was described as an “amazing night, I’d say magical actually” and “the most passionate performance I’ve seen” by those who attended.
evanjack have gone onto support the likes of Benjamin Francis Leftwich and the EP has been released independently on the bands own label, evanjack music and has already received great reviews and radio play from Bethan Elfyn, Adam Walton and Tom Robinson on BBC Radio as well as John Kennedy on XFM.
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