Evan Weiss has proved himself once again with Into It. Over It.’s new record titled Intersections. This record consists of 12 wonderful songs, each with their own topic and originality. With just one listen-through, it’s clear Evan put all he had into each song and has created a beautiful work of art. Dissecting each song as best as you can is a challenge all on its own, and this shows that Intersections is a release that demands your attention.
The record begins with “New North-Side Air,” which is an excellent introductory track. We hear piano, guitar and drums – all blending together to form a wonderful melody. Throughout this record, there is a lot going on instrumentally, and that stands true in this first track. Also, Evan’s voice sounds excellent as always. “New North-Side Air” is one of my favorite songs off this record, so after listening to it, I knew Intersections would not disappoint. Following the first song is “Spinning Thread.” In this song, we have drums leading into the pleasant sound of piano and guitar. The background singing in this song helps compose it better and I love the way it sounds. I admire the drums in this song; Evan is proficient at playing them – just like every other instrument. There is so much going on this song, but it all blends together perfectly.
Up next is “A Curse Worth Believing,” which has a long intro of resonating sounds. When Evan’s voice comes in, I can’t stress enough how great he sounds. The first half of this track is quite peaceful and relaxing; however, when Evan starts singing “You’re fu-cking careless,” this track loses some of its tranquility. Then, the “fu-cking” alternates between each ear and it’s not my favorite thing. I think Evan could have used a better word; the way he says it just doesn’t seem to fit. This song was looking like it would be one of my favorites; instead, it went to just being decent. We then rush into “Spatial Exploration,” starting off jam-packed with a blend of instruments. Evan showcases singing higher in this song, and as always, it sounds beautiful. The electronic sounds in this are just awesome and give me the feeling of a “spatial exploration.” This song almost sounds chaotic, but in a good way. One part of the song in particular stuck out to me, and that was “Where are our teens? How were your twenties? Where are the forties that hind behind thirties? Where’s the old soul, and what is this new person you’ve become?” To me, this song is partly talking about growing up and losing yourself in all the years as they blend together. This is one of the best songs on the Intersections.
“Favor and Fiction” starts playing next, and it has a beautiful intro. This song is melodic and beautiful, and I wouldn’t expect any less. It’s a great song to listen to while walking around in fall weather – that’s what this song says to me. I find myself getting lost in this song between all the instrumental aspects. “The Shaking of Leaves” follows after, and this is another one of my favorite songs. The intro is beautiful, and I think this is the perfect fall song. When the drums kick in, this track gets even better. Like the rest of this album and as I’ve said, there’s a lot going on this track; there are many different instruments used. When Evan starts singing “Woah, woah, woah,” the song (once again) continues to get better. The outro is sound and calming, and I could gently fall asleep to it.
“Upstate Blues” is next, and this song is beautiful as well. You know a record is good when the adjective you use to describe it over and over is beautiful. Melodic to its fullest extent as well as relaxing, “Upstate Blues” is nothing short of a wonderful track. Everything we’ve heard already in this record blends together into wonderfulness. “No Amount of Sound” is up next, and we get a change of pace. This song is, simply put, slow and sad. Intersections needed this song because there was yet to be a slower and much calmer song on this record. This song seems to be about someone’s mother passing away, and how it has made the person “fade out.” The song ends with guitar and Evan singing, closing the track perfectly.
“A Pair of Matching Taxi Rides” is on after, and we are back to the pace that the majority of this record possesses. I don’t think this is the best track, but it’s still good nonetheless. In general, I don’t think there’s any Into It. Over It. track that isn’t at least somewhat decent. “Obsessive Compulsive Distraction” is the next song to treat our ears. The guitar work is especially great, and Evan’s ability does not deteriorate whatsoever towards the end of this record. This song also has memorable lyrics like “My memory isn’t exactly what it used to be / The short gets shorter while the long-term just lasts with me.” I think this song is about getting older and losing your mind; it’s about time going by, and I think everyone can relate to that. Approaching the end of the record, we have “Your Antique Organ.” I enjoy the opening of this song a lot and the use of different sounds is impressive. I could fall asleep to this song, but that’s a good thing. This track is calmer and gives the feeling that the album is coming to a close. The last song is “Contractual Obligation,” which is a six-minute and fifty-second song that closes the record on a satisfying note. This is the last track, yet Evan still decided to put so many different things into this song – including different parts of singing that melt together perfectly. Overall, “Contractual Obligation” is a great track and an excellent way to close Evan Weiss’s most recent musical masterpiece.
Intersections is nothing short of amazing. Evan put an incredible amount of work into each song, and it clearly paid off. His songs are more technical and are instrumentally more complex, but still sound outstanding. For me, this is an album I will listen to on a nighttime walk by myself – much like the album art suggests. I will be listening to this throughout fall and winter (especially fall). With that being said, I do like Into It. Over It’s previous LP, Proper, a little bit better because I have more emotional attachment to that record. Don’t let my opinion deter you away from checking out this record, though, because it is a musical journey that can only be truly understood when you listen to it yourself. So go on…what are you waiting for?
