Provision
- Evaporate Re-Issue -
Synthpop.net
October 31st 2004
Provision "Evaporate Re-Issue" - Sunday, October 31, 2004
http://www.synthpop.net

This is the 2004 re-issue of the debut album for the band Provision, released after the
first 2000 units sold out. I felt that with the re-issue of this album, it was a good time to
re-visit, revise and clarify my thoughts on this album. With the original release of this
album, the studio lineup of the band was primarily Breye Kiser and Leslie Hyman. That
has remained stable, but the live lineup has fluctuated a great deal. At the time of the
original release of this album, the live lineup consisted of Breye and Leslie, along with
Matt Coker and Katie Kiser. Currently the live lineup now has Breye and Leslie, but with
Jen Foxx and Charles MacKenzie joining the band. The changes made for this re-issue
were mostly artwork and liner note related, as the colors were somewhat inverted,
and with a changed logo gracing the front cover. Also the thanks and credits list was
updated, and moved from the CD inlay tray to the booklet.

Now, when I originally reviewed this album, I made a few comments that seemingly
need some clarification. When speaking about Breye's vocals, I would have been more
clear to say this: Breye knows his range well. You won't hear him straining his voice to
reach a remarkably high or low note. He has found his comfort zone vocally, and stays
there faithfully. Also, I commented on the sounds used on this album previously, citing
a lack of variety. I've since then come to a greater understanding of the thoughts and
mindset behind the construction of this album courtesy of Breye. The idea behind the
musical approach taken here was to make the Provision sound distinctive and unique,
to make it where you could here the first few notes and know it was a Provision song.
However, it comes across to me that he has limited his sound palette in order to make
a distinctive Provision sound, and that limitation hurts the effectiveness of his songs
because they sound very similar. A good analogy would be to compare the Provision
songs to a painter's paintings. If a painter chooses to only use a certain set of colors in
all his paintings in order to be distinctive, his paintings can still be excellent works of
art.. but you couldn't help but wonder what he might be able to do with a full palette of
color.

Other than those few small points, this is still a very enjoyable album, with plenty of
passion apparent in the songs. Provision has really exploded in popularity as of late
with their second album, and this album will not only show you where they started but
help you understand why so many have become fans of this band.

Reviewer:  Jason Baker
Score:   4  Stars
Related web link:  Official Website