Jessie Evans

Is It Fire? (Fantomette)

By Kirsten Kilponen
Published: March 15th, 2009 | 9:00am

What are accordions, Tejano trumpets, Caribbean steel drums, and a synthesizer all doing in the same place? They’re thrashing and mixing together magically on Jessie Evans’ newly released album, Is It Fire? Fire? is a shimmy-making, salsa-inducing record with the vibe of a ‘20s speakeasy.

It may be Evans’ first solo album, but she’s got the musical cred and long and colorful music career to make Fire? sound muy caliente. She has played in punk rock band Autonervous and the popular garage goth band Subtonix, as well as collaborated with the likes of Hanin Elias (Atari Teenage Riot) and the beatific Glass Candy. Evans’ California art punk days and Kraut-electronica, inspired by her time in Berlin, have only added to her Banda-influenced songs on Is it Fire? — which was produced in a Mexico City laundry room. Her collaborative spirit followed onto her solo album as well, with live drumming by Toby Dammit (the percussionist for Iggy Pop’s band throughout the ‘90s), guest musicians like Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees, and an appearance by San Francisco’s Extra Action Marching Band.

The album starts off with sexy Spanish saxophones joining in and a bass rhythm formed by a deep drum machine. Evans’ loud, slightly raspy voice breaks through the heavy percussion and is topped off with the shake of maracas and castanets. The album builds like a hurricane in tracks like “Blood and Silver” and “Niños del Espacio,” in which congas, bongos, and marimba are paired against a sampler synthesizer. Evans sings in Spanish on some songs, and her English lyrics add to the heartfelt, rebellious feel with lines like, “Earth cries / Man cries / All the folks cry / White machine / War machine,” and “Come over explorers / Let go of your horrors / And love” (“Scientist Of Love”).

The whole Is It Fire? experience ends with “To the Sun,” which perfectly embodies all of the songs before it. It’s an all-out, 10-minute long, electronic polka samba featuring fun and traditional Afro-Caribbean call-and-response percussion. This, mixed with a fiery spirit and seductive voice, makes Evans sound like a New Waver, flapper, and Zapatista woman marching in a revolution, all rolled into one.

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