Evil Eddie – “De-Sex Your Ex” | Review

Review by Ben Connolly

So this world’s a pretty fucked up and funny place, eh? Apparently so, according to Brisbane’s chief shit-stirrer Evil Eddie, better known as the cheeky protagonist for fringe hip hop-come-heavy outfit Butterfingers, who is now on the cusp of releasing a debut solo effort Welcome To Flavour Country. The first two singles “Queensland” and “(Somebody Say) Evil” drew shots across the bow in terms of what was being offered.

The third single from the album, “De-Sex Your Ex”, has ‘Evil’ (known to his Mum as Eddie Jacobson) wielding the same caustic tongue as before, this time with a wilting attack on how to deal with relationship breakdowns. Stylistically this is not a million miles away from the band offerings, although the verses do hint at an as-yet unmined indie-pop attitude. The semi-cutesy acoustic guitars get stomped on by fuzzed out electrics for the choruses, however, and the hook-driven vocal is primed to once again prick the ears of the standard target market. The revelation in the press release that Evil took a DIY approach to the recording by manning all the instruments bar the kit deserves a noted hat-tip – so he’s not just the smart-arse with a sarcastic tongue?

The other tracks on the single (or EP, depending on the definition) hint of what’s to come from promised album – more of what Butterfingers fans can’t seem to get enough of: a mash-up of straight hip hop, loopy dub and harder-edged guitar pop. “In It For The Money”, for example, could easily be slotted into a myriad of swaggering 90s revisited post rock opuses currently hitting the marketplace. It’s an angry, cathartic and bittersweet tome which is included almost as a contrary viewpoint: this is not just hip hop. Two songs later and “Fuck A War” follows this same path, although the trite lyrics are possibly dated and missing the mark a tad. There’s a solid nod towards the uncompromising viewpoints of bands like Sublime and the early No Doubt, but it lacks the confrontational conviction and credibility. Other tracks on this single are a strange dancehall dity “Unsustainable Orbit” which relies a little too heavily on older-skool looped samples, and a bland remixed version of the title track which neither adds nor detracts from the original. A good offering overall, but hardly a show-stopper for an album which has seemingly been in the “forthcoming” category for an age.

‘De-Sex Your Ex’ – Out Now
– De-Sex Your Ex – EP – Evil Eddie