Indie Music: Everlost "The Hardest Thing to Say"

by Germar Derron

I think I’m wholly unique in one way: I firmly believe that all art can be objectively good or bad. And notwithstanding that objective rating, individuals may like or dislike distinctly.  In other words, it’s possible and ok to like awful music, or hate really good music. I feel something along these lines from the Everlost debut. I don’t like it, but I won’t call it bad. It’s just not for me. And that’s odd because this is a genre that is so tailor-made for me, just not this particular EP.

Before I even processed the music, I was very confused. Is Everlost, the band, just a man?  Is this one man the entire band? I think Prince did that early on – blasphemy I know. Jared Kay (the jewelers? no, the band? yes?) is obviously talented, but just not for me – at least not yet. His voice sounds something like an angel’s must, but I never really want to hear it.

One song, “You Threw it All Away” reminds me of the problem with Plain White T’s smash hit “Hey There Delilah.”  Yes, there was a problem with one of the biggest hits of 2007. We heard “Delilah” first, then we ran out and bought that album. No other song on that album sounds anything like “Delilah!” [expletive removed] Here, I heard three songs, and thought – “meh.”  But when I heard, “You Threw it All Away,” I thought, “ok, let’s go!”  But it’s the black sheep of the EP. If it were the standard, maybe I could be a fan.

The style of music seems to be very inconsistent throughout. There’s some Fall Out Boy with edge, followed by some meandering singer-songwriter, followed by generic indie rock track. I like variety, but I prefer quality. 

On “You Just Don’t Know,” the “band” and vocalist are absolutely perfect, but terribly matched. It’s almost like he and the band didn't record together or meet . . . ever. But then he is the band – I think. My head hurts.

I listened through cheap ear buds and awful laptop speakers, but the production sounds spot on, and the mix gets a solid B.

It’s not bad, it’s just not for me: 3 out of 5 stars.