“Impeccable musicianship combined with a remarkable ability to create catchy hooks is what makes Mike Evin shine. Clearly a consummate songwriting spirit.”
- Lonely Vagabond (blog, November 2011)
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“Mike Evin’s musical savvy and good-times attitude do indeed make him the best national treasure you’ve never heard.”
- Soundproof Magazine
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Praise for Good Watermelon (2009):
“The songs somehow feel intimate, like a private conversation, but also make you want to sing-along and when it comes to being a charismatic piano man, in my opinion, that’s what it’s all about.”
-HEROHILL.COM
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“Mike Evin has made an album that should be just the thing for anyone looking for a soundtrack to the lazy days of summer that are just around the corner.”
-IHEARTMUSIC.NET
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“Good Watermelon’s combination of wit and wide-eyed innocence is beginning to establish Evin as a voice to be reckoned with within the Canadian scene.”
-THE RECORD
“By turns buoyant, saccharine sweet and wistful, Good Watermelon exudes a communal, impromptu feel throughout: Handclaps snap, makeshift gospel choirs chirp, sing-alongs break out and choruses swell like feel-good ’70s AM “round the dial radio” revisited, the sound of pure celebration rather than leaden, faux meditation, with nary a hit of affectation. Pop for purely pop’s sake.”
-OTTAWA XPRESS
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“If you’ve had the good fortune to see Evin live – whether at festivals, in his brief stopovers in Toronto and Halifax or in his hometown of Montreal – you’ll notice that Good Watermelon captures the warm, cozily ramshackle group vibe of his live shows perfectly … Other reviewers have got it: Evin’s musical savvy and good-times attitude do indeed make him the best national treasure you’ve never heard.”
-SOUNDPROOF
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“That’s what this album is all about. Almost always silly and yet you can take it deeper if you’re in the mood. Think the piano of Ben Folds meets the tom-foolery of They Might Be Giants. That’s it. I’m going to keep it simple, just like a great pop song…”
-MAINSTREAM ISN’T SO BAD … IS IT?
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Praise for Let’s Slow It Down (2007) and I’ll Bring The Stereo (2005):
“[Mike Evin] has taken the idea that ‘there’s nothing new in music’ and made a mockery of it. In short, he has created an album that cannot be defined.”
-NIAGARA TRIBUNE (Niagara Falls, NY)
“Mike Evin is a rarity – a pop composer who isn’t afraid to use his wit or to wear his heart for all to hear.”
- CBC RADIO
“…like a hammer hitting squarely on the nail every time, he hits a vein with every song on this eleven-track gem”
- CD BABY (5 STARS, Editor’s Pick)
“It’s refreshing to hear a young pianist with so much power-pop punch and such a great ear for arrangements.”
- EYE WEEKLY (Toronto, ON)
“Most impressive.”
- SCENE WEEKLY (London, ON)
“…smart, sardonic tunes that poke, prod and playfully skewer the absurd details of daily life with a stubborn sense of exasperation and joy”
- XPRESS WEEKLY (Ottawa, ON)
“His knack for story-telling and melodies can almost compete with his ease at the keys, almost.”
- ECHO WEEKLY (Guelph/Kitchener/Waterloo, ON)
“Mike Evin reimagined the piano-pop songbook”
- THE INDY WEEKLY (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC)
