evenflow

CoxRoad,” Evenflows second single from their upcoming record, features a pair of intoxicating songs that beautifully evolve the signature brawny pop hooks of the Chicago band’s previous teaser single, “Courtney’s Basement.” “CoxRoad,” and its companion, “Opportunities,” take the bright, densely packed melodies and happy-go-lucky rhythms propelling the first single and deepen the mood with leaner grooves and an opened-up sound. A palpable wistful melancholy helps create hypnotic spaces, bookended by tightly coiled harmonies and rollicking, muscular dynamics.

The two offerings display Jonny Rumble’s layered melodicism and concentrated emotional heft, cultivated recently within a group that has previously delved into punk, garage and British-Invasion like sounds with great aplomb. Both in terms of introspective lyrical content and a more post-punk/power-pop musical approach, Jonny Rumble’s instinct for songcraft is more acutely wielded and deftly arranged than ever.

Singer Brian Webb explains: “On our last full-length, Almost Dead, we were coming up with the basic song structures alone in our rooms and only the polishing was a group effort.” Now Webb, along with guitarist Patrick O’Connor, bassist Jeremy Pryor and drummer Seth Thomas, are “concocting songs together from scratch, brewing the elements until each song’s potential becomes nuanced and fully-realized.”

“We’ll be writing and recording for the rest of this year and have a finished record early 2010 that will feature a combination of the songs from these singles with still-unreleased material,” says Pryor. “Also, look for giant explosions.”

In the meantime, “CoxRoad” and “Opportunities” will each be available for free download at www.jonnyrumble.com, along with very limited edition CD versions available only at the band’s live shows.