~This Elegant Chaos~#7: Evening Lights

Evening Lights.

Evening Lights!

The very name conjures up a dreamy hinterland of teenage twilights. You see, we've said it before and we'll keep on saying it, but evenings, especially Summer evenings, sum up what we (as in the Blog, ~Sighrens~ etc) are all about. It was Summer evenings that begat both ~Sighrens~ and the ~Streetlamp~ and evenings play a major part in all our greatest memories and experiences.
Whether it be our teenage wanderings under the orange phosphorescence of the streetlamps of Bannockburn that Griff Proust captured so eloquently in one of our earliest songs, 'Last Of The Lights', or those magical endless evenings when you stay out to all hours, arm in arm with the girl of your dreams.
Sitting here on a miserable cold wet January night I long for those hazy, heady Summer evenings, both of my youth, and of those still to come.
Thank goodness then for Evening Lights, for their music so perfectly captures that woozy intoxicating feeling of stepping out into the warm night air, your head like a sponge aching to absorb new memories and emotions. Have a listen to the track below, 'Are You Listening' and tell me I'm not wrong!


See?
I love it when a band gets everything, from the name inwards, absolutely spot on. The music of Evening Lights is so evocative, so immersive, so perfect that it makes me want to cry, laugh, fall in love, and have my heart broken all in the one 3 or 4 minute phrase. Just listening to, say, 'Starless'(which sounds remarkably indebted to my favourite Smiths song 'Well I Wonder') I feel that giddy rush of youthful expectation when you finally feel that THIS is your moment. There's a dreaminess within this fantastic music that many strive for but just fail to achieve. Evening Lights hit the bullseye!
When I listen to 'Landscape' I am lying across the back seat of Griff's car as we drive back from the Glasgow Film Theater, wondering if SHE is going to call me tomorrow so we can just wander the country lanes illuminated by the sunset.....starting to get the picture?


So who are Evening Lights?
Well, sadly, it's more a case of who were, as they only existed between 2002 and 2004. They hailed from San Francisco and only managed one 5 track EP, most of which you can download for free from their Last.fm page here.
The band comprised of An Yu on vocals, Ed Mazzucco on guitar, Jon Chaikin also on guitar, Matthew Bice on bass and Laura Watling on the drums. Of course Laura Watling would go on to acheive success as an artist in her own rights, and thankfully the ethereal lush tones of An Yu can now be heard in the band LoveLikeFire, whose magnificent song 'William' can be heard below accompanied by an absolutely beautiful video.


I hope you'll take a little time to listen to the songs featured, and I'm pretty sure you'll want to download the songs to soundtrack those late walks in the Summer sunsets.

Get yer boots on.....we're going!!

~Gordon~