• Artist: The Tragically Hip
• Flags: Lyrics are included with the album, Contains explicit content
• Rating:
• Styles: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock
• Track Picks: "Summer's Killing Us," "The Heart of the Melt," "Vaccination Scar"

Review

The first few seconds of In Between Evolution offer a summation in miniature of both why the Tragically Hip are so great and why mainstream success has eluded them, at least in the United States. A distorted guitar chimes out a road-ready riff, soon joined by a taut rhythm section. Then lead singer Gordon Downie shouts out "Here's a glue guy, a performance God," in a pinched howl that sounds like it's ready to veer off-key at any second. That combination of arena rock and indie sensibility is exactly what fans have come to expect from the band; the approach isn't all that different from Pearl Jam's more recent work, except that Downie's lyrics have always been, well, weirder and more literate than the hits that took Pearl Jam to the top of the charts. None of that explains why the Hip still sell out stadiums and sell millions of albums in their native Canada, but In Between Evolution is both accessible and challenging enough to satisfy longtime fans and newcomers. The slight dissonance that marks that opening track, "Heaven Is a Better Place Today," fits perfectly the combination of mourning and triumph that the band captures in the song, a tribute to hockey player Dan Snyder, who died in a car crash in late 2003. When Downie sings "If and when you get into that end zone, act like you've been there a thousand times before," he breathes new life into the tired sports cliché because what's come before is so evocative and honestly rendered, and also because there's not another cliché to be found for the duration of the album, which is one of the band's hardest rocking and most politically charged. "It Can't Be Nashville Every Night" takes aim at Toby Keith and the mindless, macho jingoism he represents, while "Gus: The Polar Bear from Central Park" further dissects the "us and them" mentality Downie sees overtaking the world around him, particularly in the U.S. As usual, guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois offer sympathetic accompaniment, giving "Gus" a sinewy, sinister feel that perfectly mirrors the lyrics' portrayal of a beast out to destroy whatever frightens it. The band thunders through almost every track, a juggernaut of guitars and drums that lets up only toward the end, easing back on the sonic assault on the rueful "Are We Family," where Downie tries to comprehend our common humanity in the face of a world where we're "taking care of each other one bullet to another." In Between Evolution is as rewarding as it is relentless, another fine addition to the Tragically Hip's catalog of thinking person's rock. ~ Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Heaven Is a Better Place Today		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(2:57)
Summer's Killing Us		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(3:30)
Gus: The Polar Bear from Central Park		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(4:09)
Vaccination Scar		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(2:57)
It Can't Be Nashville Every Night		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(2:54)
If New Orleans Is Beat		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(3:17)
You're Everywhere		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(3:35)
As Makeshift as We Are		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(3:15)
Mean Streak		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(4:11)
The Heart of the Melt		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(2:37)
One Night in Copenhagen		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(2:20)
Are We Family		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(4:34)
Goodnight Josephine		The Tragically Hip	The Tragically Hip	(3:28)

Credits

The Tragically Hip (Main Performer), Gordon Downie (Group Member), Johnny Fay (Group Member), Adam Kasper (Producer), Adam Kasper (Mixing), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Paul Langlois (Group Member), Sam Hofstedt (Engineer), Greg Keplinger (Technical Assistance), Tom McGurk (Horn), Tom McGurk (Horn Arrangements), Mark Vreeken (Technical Assistance), Gord Sinclair (Group Member), Garnet Armstrong (Art Direction), Garnet Armstrong (Design), David Koster (Technical Assistance), Cameron Tomsett (Artwork), Cameron Tomsett (Art Direction), Cameron Tomsett (Design), Rob Baker (Art Direction), Rob Baker (Group Member)

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