Another Win for Evan Weiss

Their / They’re / There haven’t been a band for very long—only about two and a half years—but the trio from Chicago have had their share of experiences and successes individually. Vocalist and bassist Evan Weiss is largely known for his musical project Into It. Over It.; drummer Mike Kinsella is in the band Owen and was in the short-lived but popular band American Football; and guitarist Matthew Frank is in Loose Lips Sink Ships. So, given their busy schedules, it makes sense that the band has only released two EPs, the latest being Analog Weekend.

The EP contains only three songs, but they’re all good enough to listen to repeatedly. And being that there are only three tracks, there isn’t much to report on negatively. Weiss, generally speaking throughout the course of his career, rarely falters, and Frank’s meticulous, fast-paced fingers make way for catchy, upbeat tracks. “Curtain Calls” opens the EP strongly on all fronts: Frank cranking out melodies, Kinsella pounding on his drums and Weiss’s distorted vocals have no problem keeping up. The single “New Blood” was released to positive reviews and features an interesting music video to go along with it. And “Travelers Insurance” wraps it all up nicely, reflecting on the past and learning to move on accordingly. Weiss’s vocals leave the distortion at home and he sounds more like a mixture of Ben Gibbard and Motion City Soundtrack’s lead vocalist Justin Pierre.

Lyrically, Weiss covers relationships and nostalgia and the songs carry a slightly negative, pessimistic attitude despite the quick pace of every track. This matches the band’s Facebook description of themselves: “A negative attitude, humming a positive tune.”

It’s great to see members of bands from the early 2000s take elements from the old emo/rock style and successfully incorporate it into something old fans and new can listen to and enjoy. Hopefully Their /They’re / There will find some more time to collaborate in 2014, or at least to give us a nationwide tour.