In Review: Eric Church Evangeline Vs. The Machine, Julien Baker & Torres Send A Prayer My Way
Plus Sunflower Bean's Mortal Primetime, Billy Idol's Dream Into It and Neil Young's Coastal
Eric Church—Evangeline Vs. The Machine [2025]
Running a little longer than 35 minutes, Evangeline Vs. The Machine appears to be a deliberate retreat from Heart & Soul, the overstuffed triple album that brought a close to Eric Church's golden decade. That's not quite true. Pumped up with enough choirs and strings to credibly call this prog, Evangeline Vs. The Machine tackles big issues—Hurricane Helene, gun violence, etc.—in a big fashion, blending old-timey allusions with classic rock sensibility and a contemporary country aesthetic. As big and bright as it sounds, the LP never places an emphasis on the niceties of country radio: the melodies aren't sharpened into pop hooks, the arrangements sprawl so dramatically, they draw attention away from the lyrics. The sheer ambition comes as something of a relief, particularly after Church's embrace of the disgraceful dullard Morgan Wallen, so it becomes easy to excuse how the songs seem to dance around their points; it's designed as a journey through the byways of Americana where the vistas matter more than the details. A closing cover of Tom Waits's skeletal "Clap Hands" puts the original compositions on Evangeline Vs. The Machine into sharp relief. Smoothed out as it may be, the song remains tart and pointed, its precision deflating the pomp that puffs up the album.
Julien Baker & Torres—Send a Prayer My Way [2025]
Julien Baker and Torres are both singer/songwriters with a pedigree in indie-rock, so their decision to cosplay as Waylon and Willie on the duet album Send A Prayer My Way may raise an eyebrow.