Album Review: High “Evil Gene”
Review by Stevie Allen
In a world where “dumpster fire” has been added to the goddamn dictionary, critiquing the insanity of the outside world is shootin’ fish in a barrel—what’s gone to shit that hasn’t already been run through the mill a thousand times over? Rather than kick a dead horse, Isidore Grisoli (vocals/bass), Craig Oubre (guitar/vocals) and Joshua White (drums/vocals) of New Orleans grungy pop-punk trio HiGH, have chosen to take the (ahem) high road for their sophomore album, Evil Gene. This go-around’s 10 tracks turn a critical eye not on the outside world, but unforgivingly inward; if there’s nothing left to burn, light yourself on fire, right? But don’t be fooled: this isn’t your little sister’s 2005 variety of saccharine, moping internal enmity. Instead, Evil Gene is a celebration of self-loathing and killer tones in a world where, some days, trying to be any “better” feels like a damn daunting task.
Track List
All Day
Evil Gene
Lowlife
Who You Know
Scotfree
Get A Life
OK
Godbod
Look At The Rain
Welp
Needing only a few moments to dropkick you right in the insecurities while giving you a raging “toner” (tone boner, if you will), Evil Gene’s jeering but jam-y opening track “All Day” kicks off with some of the most relatable, if not most pitiful, words ever spoken: I try all day to make myself give a shit / I drank all the coffee never got motivated. Ouch. We’ve all been there and it’s not a pretty place, and yet the almost sarcastic little key change at the end of the song gives just the slightest glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, the *next* cup will be the one that will turn it all around. “Scotfree,” driven by downstrokes and punchy gang vocals, is another bubbly exercise in introspection and the inevitable disappointment thereof; however, the infectiously catchy cadence of “I am nagging whining pessimistic idiot / Don’t have the gall to jump ship and now I’m sick of it” makes the pity party sound more like a sing-a-long and dance party.
Jumping off a bit from their previously beaten pop-punk path, “Low Life” doles out some sardonic life advice in its gritty minute and a half lifespan. “Ok” takes surf-rock and makes it swarthy and swampy, while “Who You Know” slows things down and plays Mad Hatter with lyrical patterning. Keeping with their inclusion of a cover, “Look at the Rain” by Meat Puppets gets an updated and up-tempo homage; a fitting choice for a band based in the precipitation pounded world of New Orleans.
Evil Gene is precisely what to look for in a follow up album—familiar, but somehow further along. Loaded with the fuzziest riffs and most sweeping, syrupy solos this side of the Mississippi while chock full of scathing lyrical wit that cuts to the core, Evil Gene picks up seamlessly from where HiGH’s 2015 debut full-length, Bummer Burner, left off, rooting the band more strongly in their particular brand of grungy pop-punk, while branching out creatively more so than before. We’ve all got an evil gene embedded in our code, and there’s not much that you can do other than embrace it and sing along. You can snag a copy of Evil Gene from Wiretap Records by clicking here.
Bandcamp: www.highonline.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebandhigh/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/hightheband/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hightheband1
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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