Evocative band name aside, there’s always been a little hint of the sinister in the sound of the Young Evils.

Sure, most of the songs on their debut full-length Enchanted Chapel jangled with undisguised pop prettiness. But guitarist/songwriter Troy Nelson’s low murmur and McKenzie Mercer’s bell-clear trill of a voice rode in a unison style that could get downright chilling, and some of those puppy-cute melodies sported unexpectedly sharp lyrical teeth. 

Foreign Spells, The Young Evils’ newest EP, doesn’t just drive on the darker side of the street–it does so in a more bad-assed fashion. A lit cigarette hangs petulantly from its mouth as it throws on its leather motorcycle jacket and rides a black Harley straight into  the blackness. And the band’s all the better for it.

Make no mistake, the pop sugar is still there. Mercer still sounds like a cross between Leslie Gore and Debbie Harry, and you can still gleefully hum along to the melodies on Foreign Spells’ quartet of tunes. But the sweetness is offset by increased muscle from the rhythm section (the kickdrum on ‘The Devil’s Barricade’ rattles teeth at the right volume),  and from Nelson’s and Cody Hurd’s louder, more dirtied-up guitars. This time around, the Young Evils sound less like their acknowledged pop heroes The Vaselines and more like those Brill-Building-gone-goth rebels, the Rave0nettes.   

Foreign Spells’ release party takes place tonight at Barboza (tickets $8/doors at 7pm), the new-ish branch of the Capitol Hill Neumo’s mini-empire. And the prospect of hearing the Young Evils deliver their terrific lead single “Dead Animals”  live sounds damn sweet from this corner.