Lee Harvey Osmond

They say that idle hands are the devil's playthings, and initial impressions of this new project are that a few big CanRock names have too much spare time. The figurehead is ex-Junkhouse dude Tom Wilson, with Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies and Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers making equally significant contributions. What is admirable is that A Quiet Evil doesn't particularly sound like any of those bands. Then again, it's hard to say what it sounds like. Most of the ten tracks go for a kind of spooky, J.J. Cale-like vibe, with "Queen Bee" and "Parkland" coming closest to achieving it. Wilson just can't get that laidback though. His vocal affectations always have the songs teetering on the brink self-consciousness. On the other hand, bonus points have to be awarded for nice covers of David Wiffen's "Lucifer's Blues," and the Velvet Underground's "I Can't Stand It." A Quiet Evil does insinuate itself after a few listens but if they plan on making a sequel, Lee Harvey Osmond should probably lighten up just a little