Eve 6 Disappoints With Shoddy Lyrics And Uncreative Melodies

Eve 6’s biggest (and only) hit to date, “Here’s to the Night” impacted pop culture and high school graduation playlists way back in 2001. Following the success of their earlier single, the band consisting of Max Collins (vocals and bass), John Siebels (guitar), and Tony Fagenson (drums), disbanded after the release of 2003’s disappointing It’s All in Your Head, which failed to produce any hit singles. After getting back together in 2011, the trio releases their first album in just about nine years this week. Preceded by lead single “Lost and Found,” Speak in Code is a weak collection of pop-rock songs that has no real place in today’s recording industry.

The second track on the album, “Victoria,” stands out the most because of its truly bizarre lyrics. Referencing an ex-girlfriend, Collins sings, “She’s doing body shots off Italian guys in Mexico / She’s dancing with a vampire at a bilingual disco / I’m all alone / I need another tequila.” Sung over an odd electronic rock beat, the song sounds like a leftover Good Charlotte track from seven years ago. Unoriginal and creepy, the track is easily one of the worst on the album.

The band’s odd lyrics continue on the track “Everything.” Collins sings, “I know a girl, she’s from the plains of South Dakota / Her momma told her not to / So she crossed the border / I heard she fed a cocker spaniel to her cobra.” Apparently, the woman who inspired a lot of the songs on the album must have been seriously twisted.

“Situation Infatuation” and “Lost and Found” are clearly the best tracks on the album. Both are backed by synthy pop beats. With both tracks, the band is obviously trying to reach the same pop audience that embraced “Here’s to the Night.” Although it is clear that the band is trying to simulate the success of One Republic, they come off as something more akin to Selena Gomez & The Scene, which just does not work for them. Harsh but truthful, the lyrics of both of these singles seem aimed at teens who have probably never even heard of Eve 6.

The biggest problem with the return of Eve 6 is that they fail to sound original at any point on the album. Upon first listen, most people will probably confuse them with another irrelevant “punk” band—basically any band 10 years past their prime. The band also seems to have channeled their inner Smash Mouth on the record.  A lot of the tracks, particularly “B.F.G.F.” (which stands for Best Friend’s Girl Friend) and “Downtown,” sound like they could have been on Astro Lounge, Smash Mouth’s corny hit album from the ’90s.

One of things that made “Here’s to the Night” so successful was its simple acoustic sound. Eve 6 would have been better off staying truer to the music of their early records instead of trying too hard to be relevant by using boring synthetic sounds and rhythms. Further, there is absolutely no lyrical value to any of the songs on Speak in Code. “Here’s to the Night” resonated with high school graduates because its lyrics had some sort of meaning to them. With most of the tracks on this latest record, it’s hard to take Eve 6 seriously. Speak in Code blurs the line between a comedy album and an actual pop rock release, because of the goofy lyrics.

Even fans of Eve 6 are likely to be extremely disappointed with the band’s latest effort. Those who were hoping to find the next “Here’s to the Night” (or lyrical value in general) on Speak in Code are better off checking out fun.’s Some Nights, because there is almost nothing worth listening to on this album.