It’s easy to listen to a record and do other things, randomly taking a break to engage in making sure the email you’re about to save in drafts will be “the one” that lands you at least an interview. Welcome to my life at 1am and my time with Atlas’ With Love, Evelyn McHale. Then you get sidetracked because you wonder if Evelyn McHale is someone to be known. That leads to a Googling session and reading about a woman who was done living. She took her life in a drastic way; jumped from the highest point she could off the Empire State Building. After the shock, you see the picture (their album cover) and you see why a band would note her in such a way. Who knows, had Evelyn McHale been in her mid-20s today, she might like this band that is like a going through the relics of a high school locker in 2003.
No, this isn’t your next favorite pop punk record. I could see where you jumped to that conclusion with the mention of a decade ago. But let’s not forget the other bands that were big then in their own right; The Used, Papa Roach and HIM. A song fit for the delicate disaster that was Evelyn’s last scene on earth, “An Elegant Self Destruction” was the song I’d put on my iPod, no questions asked. It reminded me of one of the aforementioned bands, minus the use of screaming. Oh The Used, what happened to you? Anyways, the modern, almost Gothic sounds of “Ticking Clock” and “Last Ride” were where the HIM comparisons came from. It was like I walked into a cave and there was a show being played; haunting yet fascinating. Then good ol’ Papa Roach, who I will never deny is one amazing live act, that only came to me once while listening to “Guilty As Charged.” Maybe Atlas didn’t get away with murder (get it…?)
It’s getting later or earlier depending on whom you ask. So as I stare at Jimmy Fallon through heavy eyes, I’ll wrap this up and hope a job is waiting for me tomorrow. Atlas, they’re if you took the best of those three bands and molded them into a more “with it” band. Evelyn McHale was a beautiful mess and if you happen to be interested in either her story or Atlas, please make sure to check out both. Her story is online, and With Love, Evelyn McHale also happens to be as well.
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