Record Review - 1 June 24 2004

If Interpol is the Northeast flag bearer of dynamic ebb and flow, San Francisco quintet evening fills the order for the Left Coast. As those Bay area freaks and geeks are often apt, sonic oddities bleed into evening’s version of intricate quasi-drone pop. The result makes for less dark, trippier musings on alienation in the face of physical attack, corporate greed of gentrification and grappling with the death of an unlikable family member.

Evening trades on crescendos. Bass, similar in mode to evening’s well-dressed Williamsburg counterparts, lays a foundation like a rock bridge across a shallow creek. Guitars pulse, plod and murmur before emanating into big waves, as if from a stone dropped in a large pond. The gravy in this version of tug-and-push tension is the sprinkling of haunting atmospherics: white noise, Atari game blips, laser strafes, etc. Further distancing itself from Interpol, evening prefers the later years of the booming Manchester scene of the ’80s and ’90s. While the former channels Ian Curtis and Joy Division, the latter checks Ian Brown and the Stone Roses as primary influences for vocals and overall vibe.

Having formed seven years ago and taking immense time to record its first self-financed album, evening has grown thick as thieves, making Other Victorians a testament to time well spent. The proof is in the thick, creamy pudding.

Evening plays Smith’s Olde Bar Mon., June 28, 8 p.m. $10.