EvilMrSod – The Gift CD (Keep It A Secret Records)

Recently I wrote about EvilMrSod, an alter-ego of Pablo Ramón Rodriguez Rivero, singer, guitar player, and principal songwriter/composer for Fuckin’ Family Faces, a renowned rock’n’roll band from Tenerife, Canary Islands. Still, Alive And Well sounds like a perfect treat for all those listeners hooked on raw, bluesy, alt-folk, punk rock sound. Of course, this creative artist always finds ways to impress by adding a couple more elements. What about the remainder of his discography? Well, Keep It A Secret Records supplied us with The Gift, another full-length release by EvilMrSod. This particular CD carries nine compositions, and it came out around 2019. It comes housed in a jewel case with a cover entirely done in sepia tones.

The Gift continues at the same pace as Still Alive And Well. However, it sounds much more relaxing, with a much more polished, calm, and soothing sound. Besides his explorations into blues, rock-n-roll, and alt-folk, you will also notice many experimentations with indie folk, country, Americana, southern rock, and other similar genres. You’ll especially hear these elements in an acoustic, slide guitar, and banjo performance. EvilMrSod‘s confident, sincere, soulful, luxurious vocal performance decorates this set of songs even more, and his voice perfectly matches every sonic maneuver, idea, and segment he incorporated into this album. Speaking of arrangements, EvilMrSod follows the typical singer-songwriter, alt-folk, folk rock recipe.

His compositions usually consist of several verses, rememberable choruses, and a couple of moments where the acoustic and slide guitar shine bright. There are also moments where banjo, mandolin, and sitar burst with detailed leads, melodies, arpeggiated chord progressions, and other sonic delicacies. Like at Still Alive And Well, the artist excludes the rhythm section, but there is much percussive acrobatics performed by tapping the acoustic guitar or strumming the strings. After all, who needs bass and drums, when these songs sound good on their own? After a couple of spinnings, you will notice that most of The Gift consists of meaningful ballads empowered by excellent lyrical content. Still, there are songs that are way more cheerful, dynamic, and energetic. EvilMrSod thoroughly assembled, arranged, and recorded the entire material to suit everyone who is into blues and rock music. It is a must if you are into any of the genres I mentioned before. Head to Keep It A Secret Records for more information about ordering.