The Changing Same, 'Creative Evolution' Review

R E V I E W
'Creative Evolution' album by The Changing Same

After seeing The Changing Same’s recent performances at Future City Festival and on their album release night, many of the songs on ‘Creative Evolution’ were already strangely familiar for me on the first listen to the album. The album kicks off with one of those tracks, ‘A Boy and a Girl’, with its mandolin-infused, country feel; this one for me feels reminiscent of a composition by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills (along the lines of, say, ‘Don’t go Back to Rockville’), and it’s instantly likable. Another favourite on early listens has been the more poppy ‘Dunedin’, a song that with added keyboards wouldn’t have seemed out of place on the ‘Present Perfect’ album by Dribbling Darts (a previous band of Matthew Bannister’s). An instant classic. Another well worth checking out, if you are wanting a further taster, is ‘It All Comes Right’. Besides the music, a further highlight of the release is the cover art, which is good enough to have belonged in the glory days of vinyl; it should be printed in 12x12 inches, simply so we could appreciate it in its full glory!

It’s been seven years since the release of The Changing Same’s previous, self-titled album, and five since their ‘Make up my Mind’ EP. The liner notes state the current album was recorded at Wintec in 2016, the date on the back of the CD says 2017, but the official release was not until well into 2018! Why the delay? I don’t know the answer, though Bannister did have an album release with Sneaky Feelings last year, so I guess he has been busy!

The album is available on Powertool Records via BandCamp as a physical CD or as a digital download.

- Ian Duggan