Unnecessary Evil

I stubbornly refused to pan anything on "Unnecessary Evil... or The Blinding White Of Nothing At All." Pulled a power move and demanded mono! But Mike Purcell wanted to hear a stereo version of UE and now you can too, only from Goldstar Recordings! On 2014's "Sisyphus Says," the Lees Of Memory, led by ex-Superdrag frontman John Davis with able assistance from guitarist Brandon Fisher (also formerly of Superdrag) and drummer Nick Slack, debuted with a heady blast of shoegazey squall. "Unnecessary Evil" (mixed in mono) is more streamlined and sonically varied, a closer cousin, perhaps, to the classic output of Davis' former band, and it's even better than its predecessor. (To be clear, that's high praise, as "Sisyphus" is aces.) The opening track "Any Way But Down" chimes away like the Church's "The Unguarded Moment" (one of the best songs ever, so there's an idea of how worthy it is), and Davis, an avowed Big Star acolyte, neatly echoes that group's melodic greatness with "XLII." Fear not, the trio doesn't abandon what made "Sisyphus" so appealing: "Just For A Moment," co-penned by Fisher, and the closing track "Look Away,"