With a name that suggests unease with our modern forms of isolation, it is only appropriate that Ever So Android’s greatest strength is the potential energy between its principal members vocalist Hope Simpson and multi-instrumentalist Drew Murray.
Disconnect is the band’s first full-length and their sound does not so much expand in this loftier space but evolves to become more defined. Produced by industry journeyman Bill Rieflin (REM, Swans, Ministry), the rough ends of their self-titled EP –released in 2013– are sharper. Each track is its own self-contained burst of energy, reflecting the band’s want to make an album that was cohesive without relying on a template. Simpson is able to ride out every lurch and glitch Murray throws at her; kneading every lyric with a cadence akin to that of the Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixlar-Zavala. Ever So Android’s cohesive style is expansive enough to include throttling anthems (opener “Moment”), dystopian dance epics (“Leash”), and full-on punk bashers (“Learn To Crawl”) — and more.
