Lewis is a four-piece emo band from Dallas named after none other than C.S. Lewis, which may indicate that they are Christians, but the faith of the band is not exactly clear. "Even So" is Lewis' first release on Deep Elm Records and is the band's second album.
Lewis tends to be on the mellow end of the emo spectrum--recommended for fans of Radiohead and Sleeping At Last. However, fans of poppy emo or listeners with short attention spans should be warned that 10 songs on Even So take on an average of between four and five minutes to finish their musical journey to the next track.
Lewis is a band that truly takes patience to enjoy. Its songs are solid, but not every track is a radio single. Tracks like "Bitter Days," "The Path That Strays," "Feet On The Ground," "Find Your Way" and "This Won't Hurt A Bit" are five of the best. What makes Even So a winner is the dreamy vocalist, the imaginative and poetic lyrics, and the production that rivals that of many top-notch records in Lewis' genre.
The musicianship on Even So is almost flawless, except for the backup vocal on "Counting Backwards," which seems out of sync. The riffs in some of the more energetic songs are a little obnoxious, perhaps because of the number of times they are repeated. The way that the songs are arranged may annoy listeners because Lewis doesn't get to the punch line or the hook immediately, but does so through a long drawn-out artistic process.
Overall, despite some criticisms, Lewis merits listeners' attention with Even So. Although it's not quite a mandatory purchase, it is worth checking out for serious emo connoisseurs.
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis January 2003Reviewed by BW DiederichLewis are a semi-recent signing to Deep Elm records. Even So is their second full length, but first for Deep Elm. So let's not hide anything. I posted a first version of this review, and it was a very rough draft that should never have seen the light of day. I now (after a bit of duress) freely admit that, and am apologizing for its existence on the site. Let me restate that. This is a formal…HM Magazine #98Reviewed by Jeffrey EllingerThom Yorke should be proud or at least a little weirded out over how much Brett Tohlen, lead singer for Lewis (because the band likes C.S. Lewis) sounds like him. The comparisons between the music of Radiohead and Lewis should probably stop there, although it is tempting to continue on looking at the two acts in the same musical light because Lewis tends to slip into nu-Brit pop mode from time to…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Bert GanglGiven the venerated status attached to his now-classic literary works, one might rightly expect any band taking its name from writer C. S. Lewis to aspire to at least a portion of the famous author's eloquence and imagination. True to inspiration, the members of Texan four-piece Lewis fill their sophomore outing, Even So, with a decidedly literate, image-rich set of lyrics. Entries like the title…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Ken MuellerLewis had a few things going in their favor before I even gave the disc a listen. First off, they are on Deep Elm records, one of the hippest indie labels out there that for years has given us some of the top emo bands and is currently exposing the world to some great post-emo music. Secondly, Lewis gets its name from one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis. So what's not to like? Pop that sucker…Similar sounding releases
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