Single review – Stephen EvEns: I Hate Shop

• 5th Jul 2021

This rather amusing video for one of the key tracks from Stephen EvEns’ Employee of the Month album could be summed up in the central lyric of one well known 80s  indie classic. “I was looking for a job / and then I found a job / and heaven knows I’m miserable now.”

Shot by the Chaos Enginrers, it follows Stephen – multi instrumentalist and band leader Stephen Gilchrist – as he goes from shop to shop clad in an uncomfortable looking suit and hawking his CV, before trying out a number of positions of employment with predictably unsuccessful results.  Anyone in a band who likes to moan about their lot in life  should be forced to watch this video to be reminded that things could be worse.  A lot worse.

The track itself is a raucous, stomping affair with some great, properly shouted backing vocals, a perfect fusion of punk rock attitude and glam rock catchiness all rolled into one.   Stephen is obviously doing something right in his current role – don’t give up the day job fella!