Lower Dens
Escape From Evil
RIBBON MUSIC
7/10
Vibe albums are underrated. Sometimes it’s nice just to have something consistent and immersive enough to set a mood—to soundtrack a brutally long Greyhound ride, say, or a rainy day stuck at home. At its best, Lower Dens’ third LP, Escape From Evil, is just that: a welcome, fantastically produced forty-minute set of space-age rock tunes in the vein of The Joshua Tree that, when applied correctly, could function as a soundtrack to an alternate universe John Hughes movie. Still, that’s not to say there isn’t a lot to pay attention to at the forefront of this album (standout tracks “To Die in L.A.” and “Non Grata” are all the evidence you’ll need that frontwoman Jana Hunter is a certifiable force to be reckoned with), but it does take considerable work to find something to love within each of the album’s ten songs. It’ll happen, but you’ve got to stick it out. As Hunter explains herself, “Time will turn the tide.”
