Empathy for the evil

"On Empathy for the Evil, their first LP since 2006, the band works with the same minimalist indie-pop toolbox as ever, but the duo's embraced a newfound sense of melodicism, too, which makes Smith's politicized lyrics easier to swallow ... Given Smith's persistent thematic concerns, the sense is that they're never going to simply pack it in, but they're not content to retread old ground, either. For Mecca Normal that means pushing their fractured and fractious sound into a production aesthetic more akin to the MOR guitar machine that their initial records raged against. They're still saying all the same things-but on Empathy for the Evil, they've just decided that they want to say them a little more clearly".

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"For a band whose modus operandi has been to operate without a rhythm scaffold by using only "an electric guitar and a voice to reject, articulate, embrace, and lament", fans of Mecca Normal will surely notice a more layered sound on Empathy for the Evil, courtesy of producer Kramer ... While not for mainstream consumption, Mecca Normal should find favor with fans from its mid-1990s K Records days with the astute Rorschach art rock of Empathy for the Evil".

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