Eva Cassel - Everything

Eva Cassel

Everything
self-released; 2017

​4.0 out of 5

By William Morrow

Eva Cassel, a student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, has recently released her debut album titled Everything. Written following a break up, she and her band navigate the listeners through separate stages of grief within a strong melodic and emotional context. Somehow, despite the clearly heartfelt, melancholic nature of the music, I actually had a lot of fun listening to the album, and I would say that is a testament to the songwriting capabilities of Cassel and her bandmates— utilizing delicate instrumentation with oftentimes powerful yet soothing vocals, the band conjures up a work of art that is sure to strike the listener in all of the right ways.

​Firstly, I would like to briefly touch on the production of the album— with most of the instrumentation recorded at the Record Co. in Boston, with the vocals being recorded in a closet somewhere in Mission Hill, Everything honestly sounds excellent— it is warm, full, and still has room to breath. With the vocals being the centerpiece of most of the songs, the way that the instruments consistently sit in the pocket provided a perfect foundation over which the vocals could rest. The band (and producers, I may add) use reverb exceptionally well, adding to the thematically distant nature of the music, further illustrating the separation and grief that was found in many of the song’s lyrics. 

In terms of song-writing, as I have already mentioned, Everything is absolutely solid. My personal favorites being “Pretty Girl” and “Lifeline,” the band does a wonderful job blending elements from several different genres of music in order to create a cohesive, unique sound. The way that most of the lyrical content was juxtaposed from the nature of the instrumentation (dark vs. light) presented the listeners with a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted approach to songwriting, which I think works very well. 

I also enjoyed how close-knit and united the band sounded on just about everything (no pun intended). I guess the word to best describe the album, in my opinion, is polished. Polished musicians, polished production, polished sound. It made for an easy, attentive listen, and I loved that I could pretty much hear the enjoyment coming from the band as they played their songs. I am excited to see where Cassel and her band go, and furthermore what they accomplish, as I definitely see both potential and promise in their project.

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