Life Is Suffering
Into It. Over It. / Life Is Suffering / 2013 / TSR079
With recent postings online from Evan Weiss about a teased return of 52 Weeks on vinyl, I started getting excited and threw on my Life Is Suffering 45. If you’re unfamiliar with Evan Weiss, let me give you a brief rundown. In 2007 Evan created a website titled intoitoverit.com where for a whole year he wrote a song once a week. 52 weeks. 52 songs. Yeah, absolute madman. His cleverness, honesty, sweat, and frustration shows throughout the entire musical project. The moniker was his clever way of expressing how you’re about to feel following along his weekly diary of lyrical discharge. When the new week’s song drops you’re going to get into it - but not for long - as next week comes, time to get over it. Out with the old, in with the new. Five years later, in the fall 2012, Evan’s solo project evolved into a full band as he invited his closest friends along in a van to tour the U.S. playing favorites from this project alongside tracks from recently released debut LP Proper. Upon completion of the tour, Life Is Suffering was born - a “box set” with a 200 page photograph book of the adventure with a seven inch accompaniment featuring two live tracks.
The first of the two tracks Evan decided to record is a twist on Wearing White - a more raucous, progressive build on the originally syncopated, acoustic track that nears the end of the 52 Weeks collection. The track is quick and booming - it certainly highlights how awesome it would have been to hear the original line up in a small club on this inaugural tour. Second track Anchor is my favorite though - a classic, repeatedly played comfort-song from Evan that doesn’t stray far from the original. Truly the only difference is that it’s performed on electric guitar as opposed to acoustic. Anchor is Evan’s beautifully honest ode to a lover with a statement that he will always be there for them no matter what they are going through. To this day I still cover this song frequently on my living room couch. Learning it back in college made me realize how much I love playing in C# open tuning.
Into It. Over It. (in 2012) is Evan Weiss, Matt Jordan, Nick Wakim, and Owen Mallon. The photographic journal was created by band friend Hilary J. Corts who came along for the ride. The first set of the tour can we watched here: Into It. Over It. on Audiotree Live (Full Session)
