Strap Originals Two-Parter: Part 2 – Last Friday, 26th November, Strap Originals released two fantastic new singles – Vona Vella – Rainy Days and Evan Williams – When The Shutters Rise Again, and we’re bringing you reviews of them both. In the second instalment, we bring you Evan Williams – When The Shutters Rise Again.
During the not-so-long-ago depths of COVID-19 lockdown, one meager optimistic hope was that some bloody good art might come from it. ‘When The Shutters Rise Again’ is one such creation.
Described by the label as “space-age cowboy punk”, East Kent singer-songwriter Evan Williams’ lyrics are a poetic outpouring of frustration and hope, both in the overt chorus encouraging the listener to love their neighbour a bit more when society gets back on track and the shrouded verses, containing theatric imagery of ballerinas with sore feet, dead colonels and blinded regiments. Williams sounds as if he takes his cues from The Libertines, Billy Bragg or The Smiths, with a catchy as fuck chorus and rampant guitar flourishes straight out of a classic spaghetti western.
Watch the song’s brand new lo-fi video right below: