Evil Little Thing has arrived with his debut single “Stuck In A Coincidence,” carrying a lot of promise and a clear sense of where he stands in the scene. As reviewers, we hear a lot of music, so when a track stands out it is refreshing to go deeper and understand the artistic decisions behind it.
“Stuck In A Coincidence” feels like a refreshing salad appearing on a table full of fried food. The instrumentation and its layers add dimensions to an already nuanced production, creating an atmosphere that is intimate yet relatable, one that invites you in from a distance rather than pulling you by the collar.
Evil Little Thing’s strongest asset remains his vocals, which carry enough weight to make the listener stop and pay attention. The old tape grain effect and a cynical undertone held consistently through the entire track make it very hard to look away. There is a deliberate roughness to the texture that feels chosen rather than accidental, and that kind of control in a debut single is incredible to witness.
The guitar and synths do the heavy lifting on the production side, with tones that feel larger than life while still keeping the rhythm and melody firmly in check. Nothing feels out of reach. The layers serve the song rather than showing off, which speaks to a commendable amount of maturity in the songwriting.
“Stuck In A Coincidence” does not alienate the listener to prove a point, and it does not soften its edges to chase approval either. It simply exists on its own terms.
This is the kind of song that would make you pull out your phone mid-commute to look up who made it if it ever came on the radio. Evil Little Thing is a name worth remembering, and this debut makes a strong case for paying close attention to whatever comes next.
1) What was the thinking behind the vocal production on “Stuck in a Coincidence”?
I was listening a lot to Unknown Mortal Orchestra when I wrote this song. I really wanted to be a part of this sonic world, but with my own twist. I used similar techniques to create this vocal sound, but in a really backwards way. I first did something similar to the vocal production in the song “Ffunny Ffrends”, and then I just messed it up completely. I also wanted to have a robotic feeling to it in the verses so I added a very weird layer with a bunch of stuff and pitched it down. It is my weird “artistic” way to express the character of the verses which is almost robotic, it just follows the herd. In the chorus all the vocals clean up to make way for the second character which is like the angel on the shoulder in a cartoon.
2) How does it feel releasing your debut?
It feels pretty great. I have released many things over the years but always as a part of a group, so I know the feeling. But doing it on my own feels much more exposed and frightening, so to finally do it and confront the fears feels really good!
3) When did you last feel “Stuck in a Coincidence”?
Every time I read the news I feel it. There is so much going on these days, and it feels like there is an expectation to have a solid opinion right away on everything. If you’re on the right you’re supposed to think this and if you’re on the left you’re supposed to think that. So I feel stuck between ideas that I don’t have enough time to understand. The “coincidence” aspect of it is that most things happen by mistake or by powers we have no control over, so it’s almost, or sometimes just is, a coincidence, and we are all stuck in it.
4) Where are you most likely to find inspiration: a park bench by a pond, or a café overlooking a busy street?
I don’t really know. I think inspiration is something you have to work for. If you just wait for it to come, it won’t be often. For a very long time I was writing a song a day. When you are actively creative every day, inspiration comes all the time and wherever you are. So I don’t really have a place where I get inspired. But I have a state of mind that keeps me inspired so maybe that counts as an answer.
5) Is the next song already in the works?
Definitely! I already have a few songs queued up and waiting to drop. But I also have more than three albums worth of songs that are in different stages of production. I like to write and record a lot and then decide what’s good enough. Some of the songs I am keeping for an album that someday I will release so I’m saving them, some will be released very soon.
6) Who’s behind the name Evil Little Thing?
It’s me. I had a list of almost 100 names because I couldn’t decide on anything. Evil Little Thing is one of the last names I thought about actually. I had to release the songs already and this name just felt right to me. It’s a dad joke which is perfect, but it also has a lot of meaning. The dad joke aspect is that it sounds like a punk/garage band, but the songs are almost the complete opposite. But the meaning behind it is that my core messages with this project are about being open to someone who thinks differently than you. And with today’s political climate it’s almost forbidden to listen to the opinions of the opposite side. So to some people (on both sides) I will be evil, just because I can understand the other side.
7) What genre do you feel most at home in?
Oh that’s a tough one. If I had to put a label on it, I would say “Indie”, but it’s not really a genre, is it? And many of my upcoming songs are somewhat different from each other. They all have an emotional and nostalgic core to them. The lyrics and the stories can feel like an Adventure Time or an Avatar episode because they are written from a very free state of mind and they try to have a moral code and honesty in them. My sound is best defined by my story: I grew up on the classics like Fleetwood Mac and Prince, I listened a lot to 90s music like Pixies, Wilco and Alice in Chains, and I grew up in the 2010s, a time when genres started to melt together completely and everyone was blending elements of everything into their own unique sound. It’s not a genre, but I think there are some artists like me, and maybe one day they will say we made a sub-genre or something.
8) If “Stuck in a Coincidence” were a color, what would it be?
It is a very orange song to me. The whole branding for this release is orange. My logo, the lyrics on social media, the artwork. I actually thought it was an orange song only after the artwork was shot. But it’s a resounding orange now to me.
9) Was there a happy accident during production that shaped the final track?
I used a drum sample that my friend Tamuz gave me (he makes the best drum packs in the world), but I thought I would use it only for the demo. But I got carried away with production and recorded everything to fit with this sample. When I tried to play it myself it just didn’t feel right anymore, so I just kept it. I am really happy that it stayed because now I can say that Tamuz played on my track (kinda).
10) At what age would you want a younger version of yourself to hear this song?
I love this question. I think a 16 year old me would have loved this song. But the song’s message is much more relevant now than when I was 16, so maybe the version of me who wrote it is the younger me who needed this song the most, so I would give it to him.
Find Chelle’s interview here.
