When an album doesn’t immediately grip you, it can be subsequently quite difficult to fully get into it, especially when there’s as much going on in a release as there is in De:Evolution. It’s a little hectic at times, with a lot of ideas spanning a few different genres, and the album doesn’t quite cross the line from ‘good’ to ‘great’.
Something that becomes apparent as you listen is that a lot of the songs are constructed in the same way and subsequently sound quite similar to one another, especially during the first half of the album, so it does feel like you’re listening to one long and repetitive song at times and it’s perhaps not the most engaging of listens as a result.
That’s not saying the album is bad, however, and a particular high point is the punchy number Some Holy Thing, which comes near the end of the album. Beginning with clashing guitar tones before immediately hitting you with a powerful vocal performance that’s a half-yelled, half-sung affair that lends itself well to the song. The instrumentation has this great mysterious tone to it at times, especially during the softer sections, and it’s an all-round rewarding listen.
De:Evolution has its good points and its bad points. It’s certainly not a bad album, but on the other hand it’s not a release that knocks you for seven and makes you want to scream about it from the rooftops – it’s just an all-round average album.
6/10
