For those of you who have been with us a while, you will be familiar with Galway based band Evøke who will be releasing their debut EP “Revelatiøns” on the 27th of this month. For those who don’t know, allow us to introduce you to one of our (really it’s one of my favourites and I don’t want to speak on Niamh’s behalf – Emma. -you know I am almost as fond of them as you are Em. They are Em’s faves though!) favourite Homegrown Heroes and our Spotlight Artist of August! Evøke is a four piece “Indie/pop/fusion trad band” from Loughrea and, if the genre sounds a bit funky to you, allow me to assure you that it is perhaps the most apt and shortest way to sum up the musical style of Evøke.
Who are Evøke?
Evøke consists of Keagan Forde, Evan Forde, Michael Glynn and Dylan Crean who have over the past while released 3 singles (Keep On Moving, Collide and Can You Feel It); the most recent of which is “Can You Feel It” which was released in May this year. Evøke caught the guide’s attention at Riverfest in Shannonbridge (shout out to the host, Luker’s, for a great weekend) last year. The one thing we took away from their wild set was that the world needs to hear ‘Maniac 2000’ with a banjo; it is f*cking iconic. Generally speaking, I’m not what you would call overly fond of banjos unless it’s in a Mumford & Sons song but drawing inspiration from the likes of Mumford & Sons, Gavin James and Dermot Kennedy allows Evøke to blend musical styles and fit nicely into their own genre.
Revelatiøns
E: Overall, my initial reaction to Revelatiøns was one of pleasant surprise. Evøke is a band that is more than capable of pulling a few surprises from their hats for a big occasion like this and, on this occasion, they didn’t disappoint. Revelatiøns is very much an EP focused on someone’s love life; the good, the bad and the lessons learned from it all (hence the ‘Revelatiøns’ at the end). As a debut EP, Evøke have set the bar high for themselves but they can easily surpass this because they are continuously growing, learning and honing their craft; they can only get better from here. Their music can be compared to the likes of Mumford and Sons and it is clear that they learned a few tricks from bands like M&S but Evøke has very much adopted their own take on the inclusion of the banjo that ensures they have their own genre and niche to fit into in the Irish Music Scene. In short: There’s nothing quite like Evøke.
Revelatiøns as a whole strikes me as a body of work that took time to come together. Like it was grown out of experience rather than created for the sake of creating. The tracks may outline the stages of a love story but each stage is approached differently. There isn’t a stereotypical ‘oh woe is me’ break-up song and the song that seems to deal mostly with endings, ‘Came Tø An End’, is oddly upbeat and seems to imply that there is still hope. ‘If you want we can try again / looking for a different end’ suggests that even at the end of it all there is still some hope for a more positive outcome but perhaps, sometimes, the best idea is to let things lie as they are. There is hope and devotion in the track ‘Før Yøu’ while the title track ‘Revelatiøns’ points out that there are lessons to be learned even in the bad times. Revelatiøns focuses on the fact that there are things that one person simply cannot do for you with the simple refrain of “I can’t do it all for you, not even if I wanted to.” Collide is a 2019 release that I very much loved originally and to see it fit in so well among newer tracks shows a sense of timelessness; this song doesn’t seem to go out of date. Collide always struck me as a track that highlights the difficulty of ignoring the inevitable end of something that seemed destined to last.
Overall, Revelatiøns seems to draw on experience and if Evøke continues to write based on their personal experiences they will have a long career ahead of them. There are plenty of experiences left that can be drawn upon.
N: Overall the EP surprised me, I honestly cannot say it any differently. You know a band is onto a winner when your first reaction after hearing the entire EP is “where have they been hiding some of those songs?”. The EP itself tackles different aspects of relationships and love. There is something for everyone, be you single, in a relationship or going through a breakup. Evøke brings together catchy upbeat melodies to some rather sad lyrics, have upbeat lyrics to even catchier melodies or; belt out a slower number in a hauntingly memorable fashion!
As the symbolism nerd here at Our Muchness Guide, I have to point out the EP cover design! Anyone who decides to include Ogham and (what look like) Runes on their cover gets all of the thumbs up from me. I do need to spend some time translating but, I’d love to know from the guys what made them decide to include these old languages on the ‘Revelatiøns’ EP cover!
One thing I love about Evøke and it is the reason they stand out from the crowd when trying to compare them to anyone else in the Irish Music Scene is their attention to detail. When listening to them make sure you take a moment to just listen to the instrumental genius that these guys have put together in all of their songs!
The first song on Revelatiøns is ‘For You’, this song is a close second when it comes to naming my favourite Evøke songs. ‘For You’ helps the EP to start off strong. It is a catchy number with a lovely story behind the lyrics. It made me ‘aw’ a lot and really drew me into the EP itself.
‘Came To An End’ – this one has my favourite musical background and solos out of all the songs on the EP. The lyrics behind this one hits hard at the moment personally so fair warning to anyone who may be in a similar position to myself. Keep an ear out for the contrast between the lyrical story and the music. This one also packs a powerful musical punch!
The third track is ‘Collide’ and since it has been out in the world since 2019, I am hoping some of our readers have heard of it before. If not ‘Collide’ is the slow ballad style song on the EP. What stands out for me on this one is the lead vocals. Make sure you listen to this one with earphones/headphones to truly be in awe of this song.
‘Can You Feel It?’ Is up next and our readers may be familiar with our review on the single here. Go check out that review after reading through this post if you would like a more detailed account of my thoughts on ‘Can You Feel It?’ But, I am gonna sum it up here: This song makes you sit up straight and listen to it. The unique choices of instruments along with the heart wrenching performance of the lyrics is something that you won’t forget in a hurry.
Lastly is the title track ‘Revelatiøns’. It is by far my favourite Evøke song to date. Like all of the songs on the EP this song is no different in hooking you from the first beat but; differently this was the song that made me question: Where have they been hiding this song?!? It’s the one I have been blasting in my room since I first heard it and now that it has finally dropped on streaming platforms it’s the song I’ll be sending to everyone when they ask for new acts to listen too. But, don’t take my word for it, make sure you listen to it!
Other Music to date from Evøke?
Evøke released their first single back in 2018 ‘Keep On Moving’, this was followed up with ‘Collide’ in 2019 and the release of ‘Can You Feel It?’ earlier this Summer. One thing you need to keep your ear out with these guys are their covers too. Some will surprise you, some you can guess they will be good at and others just fit amazingly with these guys style!
Most Underrated song:
E: Personally, I thought Collide didn’t get enough attention on initial release so seeing it on the EP and getting some love and recognition makes me immensely happy. Granted, now that the track is on the EP, I can’t say Collide is underrated…hmmm.
N: In my opinion their first release ‘Keep On Moving’ doesn’t get enough love. I adore it and it’s the first song I connected with their lyrics in a BIG way when I heard it!
Favourite Song?
E: For me it has to be ‘Came Tø An End’
N: Revelatiøns, hands down!
Favourite Lyrics?
E: “So don’t look at me like I’m the only one who needs some kind of savin’, You shouldn’t lean on me the way you do when you know that I’m the one that’s fallin’”
N: “Well I hear those songs, see those faces, something about these places different to me cause I’m here along with you”
Any Gig Memories?
Riverfest! Emma said it best up in the introduction but Riverfest was insane and we are grateful that we got to see them live. Cannot wait for the day there is a reunion at one of their gigs…
What’s Next For Evøke?
We’re hoping for good things from Evoke and that they continue going from strength to strength but, if you want to keep up to date with what the lads are up to, keep and eye on their socials: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Who knows what they’ll be up to next but we wish them all the best no matter what they aim to do but at the moment they have a little competition on their socials to win a physical copy of their new EP!
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