Evans the Death is an indie rock band that formed in London in 2011. They are comprised of Katherine Whitaker (vocalist and keyboardist), Dan Moss (guitar), Olly Moss (bass), and James Burkitt (drums).

Their second album release took place earlier this month; Expect Delays, produced by Slumberland Records. The first song on the album, “Intrinsic Grey,” sets the tone with a glamorous mesh of a stammering melodic mix in vocal ability, with the articulated symmetry of band backup. Many of the songs have the same formula, beginning with standalone vocals while mixing in instrumentals, building to a level almost too intrusive and overwhelmed with sound.

The band, still coming of age, is represented strongly through their music and, in many ways, is a representation of teen angst. Each song has an individual feel with some fundamental paralleled melodic influences. Some songs are melodic and attractive while some are hefty and jarring, all of which retaining the indie post-punk 90’s inspired elements, which are more prevalent in their self-titled debut album.

Taking a more honed direction, their sound tightened the band’s purpose and brought clarity to the image they are trying to impose. The self-love anthem of “Intrinsic Grey” compared to the loathing sorrow sounds on songs like “Catch your cold,” on the first album show the triumphs of growing up and the fears and stages of entering adulthood. Often, the lyrics are disguised with upbeat rhythms and sound, a tactic done on many occasions, from everyone like the Smiths, to The Cure, to Bowie, executed with sophistication, which creates an eloquent contrast of surface understanding and lyrical composition.

Compared to their first release, the band seem to have sharpened up a bit. Songs like “Terrified,” with its ingenious keyboard flashes and rhythmic bass, and the impetuous “Clean Up” seem more refined, although they’re sure not any merrier. “Idiot Button,” with the grotesquely relatable line, “I can’t explain the gaps in my employment history” will undoubtedly connect with many of their identity crises ridden fan base. It’s a solely applicable album for anyone a bit undecided in life. The phenomenal elegy of the superbly grungy single “Don’t Laugh At My Angry Face” appears late in the album, before things end on a more quiet note on “Don’t Beat Yourself Up.” Whether its advice to others or to the band, is open for interpretation. Whitaker ends things on an uplifting note; “Give yourself a chance.”

Overall, this band, as well as the record, is confident and abrasive in the best of ways. It’s worth the listen.