Review

Protest music, minus the smugness
Despite its title, Get Evens isn't about seeking revenge or even rousing Dischord's usual troops. Betting on the idea that well-phrased dissatisfaction reaches greater numbers outside of high school than screaming outrage, Fugazi's Ian MacKaye and the Warmers' Amy Farina write protest songs that aren't flecked with spittle or redolent of the smug whiff of someone who has all the answers. But while their hardcore-sired folk is levelheaded, the political message isn't always fresh: "Everybody knows you are a liar" goes one of the easier diatribes over the anxious rumble of MacKaye's baritone guitar and Farina's relentless drums. But more often, the Evens' songs are smart and not entirely predictable. Rather than lay out the conversation which might ensue over "Dinner with the President," the duo wonder at the fact that they have yet to receive an invitation. "Maybe power lies in accessibility," MacKaye sings. "Maybe power lies."