Her EP 'i think about it way too much' is out now.
Earning a solid reputation for her unique brand of electro dark-pop, Melbourne-via-Geelong singer-songwriter Evangeline has been on the upward trajectory ever since her debut single CHEMICVL back in 2015. Everything she’s put out has felt like an adventurous, crystal ball look into the future – from the near-yearly singles that litter her discography and her debut, 2017-released EP Atelophobia right through to her moments with others, whether that be remixes that shape and mould her vocal into well beyond its limits or guest features alongside Donatachi, CRAVE, OK Sure and Recluse.
Now the enchanting and wistful singer returns with her brand new EP ‘i think about it way too much’ out now via her label Sad Boy Records.
Dark and dramatic, ‘i think about it way too much’ is a concept record that sees Evangeline narrate a weekend in the life of, chronicling the chemical and emotional highs and lows that take place. Over the five tracks, including previous single ‘bad parties’ ft. Julius, Evangeline honestly wrestles with feelings of social anxiety and not fitting in, yet at times also submits to breaking free and enjoying these moments.
To celebrate the release of her EP, Evangeline has shared five things that she thinks about way too much.
One of the things I am thinking about way too much today is the pressure of choosing only five topics that I’m currently overthinking – let alone the condensing, writing something concise, honest and interesting. After the year we have experienced and currently being in lockdown, you could say my brain has been working overtime with the conversations that have been ongoing for years being purged into the mainstream media including Systemic Racism, Privilege, Cancel Culture, Self love/Self-care, Mental Health and Climate Change. Interestingly, when discussing this with a friend, they instantly asking whether all my points would just be… thinking about boys? As if that’s the only thing swirling around in my head. Yeah, a lot to unpack there with that assumption.
I think way too much about how people are going to interpret my upcoming EP I Think About It Way Too Much. Are they digging their nails into the nylon seatbelt and escaping with me, desperately squirming in their own emotionally manipulative tendencies when they listen to the simplified lyrics from ‘The Afterparty’? Or are they taken back to their own memories? Is the listener actually hearing the lyrics, or just the sound of vocoder, bass and samples? Has it randomly shown up via shuffle while streaming and they’ve hit that skip option because they think it’s just another ‘pop’ song?
Music is a funny, personal and frustrating thing because I only ever write about memories. While I’ve been doing press for this record, I’ve had to compress what it’s about to a few sentences which tends to come off as “sad girl/anti-party/anti-drugs” which isn’t really what I am trying to say or get across – what I write is usually just me processing. I write about moments and people that have created some type of bookmark in my lifetime. Writing is my way of dealing with them; I think that’s why in a world of single releases, I stubbornly decided I would continue to write within my theme and make a concept record. It doesn’t necessarily have a message – I Think About It Way Too Much is about one weekend, but also from a mental state based off the amalgamation of several weekends, and is condensed into five songs with a total play time of sixteen minutes. As a writer, it’s funny because sometimes explaining that these songs are little snippets of trauma feels like I’m taking a photo of some really beautiful sunset with a really crappy quality phone camera. Each song represents a memory or repetitious emotion from a particular night, simplified into verses and choruses.
I am definitely guilty of indulging my overthinking of the ‘Sliding Doors’ film theory.
Really, who is to say there isn’t a split in time and universes? I love backtracking friendships, relationships, career moves and so on. Questioning what decisions in life got me to the point that I’m at now. It’s very therapeutic when you are on the other side of healing, like ‘oh if that person didn’t break my heart then there’s no way I would be in the place I am now’, ‘if I didn’t go to that ‘one’ party that I didn’t want to go to all those years ago I would never have met one of my closest friends’. I guess it’s just one of those weird thought trains I like to ride. It stings a little, but usually no matter how hard, dark or depressed I was… if I didn’t go through it… there’s no way I would be in music now. I wonder if in an alternative universe I ordered the chocolate milkshake instead of the strawberry, and that is what completely changed the stream of my life projection. I don’t know, I really need to stop watching Rick and Morty though.
I think about growth a lot, sometimes maybe too much.
Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it can be damaging. I have an unhealthy attachment to the ‘guilt’ emotion and going over things I can’t change. I think back to high school where I was repeatedly thrown the question ‘Has anyone ever told you that you are weird/too much/loud/annoying?’ I was sad and music was my escape. I said and did things I regret to fit in or be funny, and honestly if I could go back in time, I would punch myself *somewhat* lovingly in the face and tell myself not to try sooooo hard. I guess at that point I thought I was special because I felt so lost, only to find out later in life that if there’s one thing that didn’t make me special…. it was being lost.
A lesson you would think every cliché movie should have taught me: We were and sometimes we are all lost, maybe not at the same time, maybe for different period lengths… but most of us look back and cringe at bitchy things we said or did, uneducated statements or jokes that were made and the personalities we tried on or adapted depending on the crowd.During the promotion of this EP I have the opportunity to really explain what each song means to me for the very first time and one of my favourite questions that I’ve continually been asked really glues this point together – it’s about my last song on the EP ‘I Wish I Was Anybody Else’, which is both the very end and as you will hear, it’s also the very beginning. They ask, ‘Do you still wish you were anybody else?’ I don’t currently wish I was anybody else but that is because I *am* somebody else. I still relate to all of these painful, scary, anxiety-filled memories and emotions but as I like to mention, when I write, it is never a current situation and rather it’s me processing the past. It is honest and self-aware so as a result it showcases many character flaws.
I want to start this last but most important point with a trigger warning. The month of September is ‘Suicide Prevention Awareness Month’ and the 10th of September is an international awareness ‘Suicide Prevention Day’. When this piece comes out; the date will have passed but suicide prevention and awareness is a very important, recurring cause that is close to my heart and engraved into my brain. You are not alone. Your emotions and your feelings are completely valid. Check in with yourself daily. Check in with your loved ones. If you are drowning, I beg that you reach out for help. There is no harm or shame in speaking with someone. It is completely normal, especially, after the year we have had to be overwhelmed, anxious, lonely or depressed. There is support and hope. Lifeline has created a text line available 0477 131 114 6pm – Midnight (AEST) if you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t feel like talking but would like to reach out via text.
Evangeline’s new EP I Think About It Way Too Much is out now. You can stream it here.
