Eve 6: Speak in Code

Eve 6 hasn’t released an album since this year’s freshmen were 9 years old, but the long-anticipated fourth effort "Speak in Code," released Tuesday, doesn’t disappoint.

In typical Eve 6 fashion, "Speak in Code" follows a format that brought the band monumental success in the ’90s and early in the turn of the century.

It includes an equation of dance-themed rhythms, electronic production, relatable lyrics and vocally driven melodies.

"Curtain" starts off the new album, and it does so by offering up the best song on "Speak in Code."

"Curtain" is the most melodically solid song on the disc, and it carries the type of energy that is meant to kick off a concert.

The track inspires enough enthusiasm to hold the attention of even average fans of the genre throughout the album.

Fans of the group’s previous efforts will find that this album resonates most with "Horrorscope," the 1999 release that contained singles "Promise" and "Here’s to the Night."

This is most prevalent in the second track on the album, "Victoria," in which synthesized instrumentals accompany a record of the anxieties felt in a relationship past.

"Victoria" was the second single off of "Speak in Code," following "Lost & Found," the album’s seventh track.

"Lost & Found," unlike much of the "Horrorscope"-influenced album, could have been featured on the self-titled debut without a second guess.

It contains the mid-to-late ’90s pop-rock punch with a minimally synthesized feel, and it’s a welcome taste of the band’s roots.

Songs "B.F.G.F." and "Blood Brothers" are made up of simple, and sometimes forced lyrics, but the choruses continue to play through listeners’ minds well after the first listen.

While sing-songy choruses redeem the tracks, the album could have been better off by replacing them with more lyrically clever efforts. As it stands though, these two tracks don’t hurt the album as is.

Fans of Eve 6 have grown to expect the obligatory ballad, and there are a couple of instances where these tracks emerge in "Speak in Code."

Both "Moon" and "Pick up the Pieces" bring elements of "Here’s to the Night," "Hey Montana" and "Girlfriend" to light.

"Pick up the Pieces" is the best melodic piece on the album, and it is certainly a contender to place in the
top-three songs of "Speak in Code."

In short, Eve 6’s "Speak in Code" is worth at least one cover-to-cover listen.

Fans of bands that thrived during the musically golden ’90s will be impressed, and the group certainly made a case to gain new support, as well.