With menacing guitar distortion and blaring brass, “The Evil Stands High” is an immediately striking new track from Roja, Liverpool’s favorite indie mariachi group. Appealing to fans of cinematic-minded composers like Ennio Morricone and Scott Walker, Roja’s tunes frequently sound like they would be at home on a soundtrack for a Tarantino film. Formed from the remnants of alt-rock group Marlowe, Roja has been attracting attention for performances at venues like SXSW and The Great Escape UK. This particular track does well in showing their arsenal, with developmental vocals working alongside a structural revolving around more restrained verses and a blaring verse, preceded by sputtering brass in the bridges. “And the evil stands high,” the vocals repeat during the central hook, almost in a thematic sense like a Bond theme song. Full of charisma and stylistic polish, this is a solid release from Roja.
