4 out of 5

Label: Troubleman United

Produced by: Enon

An excellent cross-section of Toko-era funky Enon and solo Schmersal fuzzy pop, Evidence strips away some of In This City’s or High Society’s quirky flourish and focuses on a grooving bass and drum beat, and the interplay of John’s and Toko’s pleasant sing-song, with a sweet tale of the endurance of love. It’s a pretty perfect capture of the charm of Enon’s formula – some fantastical, slightly nonsensical lyrics included – sans some of the (by my opinion) sometimes forced cheek of the more fleshed out album / EP productions.

On the B-side, Grain of Assault is more insular (if that title is any indication) with John also talking about love, but as a narrative, and more from a ponderous and potentially bitter perspective. But this isn’t a usual “love sucks” tale; these are some of John’s most cutting and contemplative lyrics, matched to a satisfying blur of a drum machine and some background clicks and a soft melody.

The only reason for knocking this back a bit is that I’d somewhat consider these both B-sides, in the sense that neither is necessarily a standout single that tops similar songs on other albums. The tunes are also both similar paced, and though stylistically different, hit notes in the same general range – so neither stands out from the other, either. But they are both, individually, great captures of Enon’s strengths, happily collected on the Lost Marbles compilation.