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Jun 27, 2025 Web Exclusive By Shaun Soman

Let’s get this out of the way: the Evangelic Girl is a Gun’s cover goes hard. It also, to an extent, misleads. While the artwork for Nat Ćmiel’s fourth full-length release under the moniker yeule emanates a dark, cyberpunk aura, Evangelic Girl is a Gun is, confoundingly, a sun-drenched pop album—perhaps the pop record of the summer. And while pop artists that blend multiple genres sometimes do so incoherently, just seeing what sticks, here yeule brings trip hop, soft rock, country and glitch textures into perfect balance.

The first few bass notes on opener “Tequila Coma” sound like a slowed (but not reverbed) version of Gorillaz’s “Dirty Harry” while the track’s chorus and guitar solo establish a hazy atmosphere, conjuring visions of speeding through the desert à la The Fabulous Killjoys or baking oasis-side. Follow-up “The Girl Who Sold Her Face” explores the sharper side of the album’s early-to-mid ’00s influences before lead single “Eko” fully embraces pop punk—after opening with a synth reminiscent of Two Door Cinema Club, because why not? What comes next on “1967” is a dusty, psychedelic guitar lick, of course, and a chorus meant to be shouted out rolled-down car windows. (There’s that “Dirty Harry” resemblance, again.)

Every single track is like this, each one offering a reason to put it on repeat. It’s the piano on the waltzy “VV,” the summer love (and loss) of the absurdly catchy “Dudu,” the transition from “Saiko” into the title track, plus an eye-popping lyric or two. By the time “Skullcrusher”—the album’s closer and grittiest effort – draws to a close, there’s “Tequila Coma,” calling you to take the desert cruise all over again.

At its worst (or rather, least good), Evangelic Girl is a Gun is “merely” interesting—it’s just fun to hear what yeule does next! At its best, though, yeule’s latest work is quintessentially 2025, an all-killer-no-filler, hypermodern take on music—pop or otherwise—circa 2004. In that way, Evangelic Girl is a Gun—a record that doesn’t miss—is can’t-miss, appointment listening. (www.yeule.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10