On the advice of Aaron Rauch, the singer/guitarist from the bands Blue Was a Bear and History of Lovers, I took a listen to Nyack’s Christian Evans this morning.

What a pleasant way to start a Monday.

Just like History of Lovers, Evans likes to take things slowly and quietly.  Although his songs are often deliberate, you don’t walk away bored—in fact, they seem to draw you in deeper (Evans unsurprisingly cites David Wilcox as an influence).  What might surprise you a bit, though, is that when Evans started making guitar recordings around the age of 15, he preferred playing rock and metal.  But sometime towards the end of college, he must have traded those distortion pedals for a pot of green tea and some aroma diffusers, sedating him a bit.  Now, the 28-year-old songwriter—who paints houses and teaches guitar for a living—composes songs that make you want to lounge and loll while listening.

Shoegazing Permitted Here

Some of his songs are bouncier, though, like the country tune, “Down East,” and the instrumental “Maple Street.”  The subtly melancholic tones never quite dissipate, but, like all the songs I heard on MySpace, they seem driven by something hopeful beyond it all.

There’s a comfort in Evans’ songwriting, and that comes out in “The Lover & the Beloved,” a song that he wrote for two friends to celebrate their wedding:

“Wrap your hearts in this coat
To weather this world, making the most
Truth will fill up your breath
And leave you with life, when all else has left.”

He’s playing a tentative gig at The ‘76 House in Tappan on December 11, and then a show at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack on December 21.  Both performances are with Aaron Rauch, and other musicians in their circle.