We Were Evergreen have a clean-cut sound that begs to be messed up, just a bit. There are 15 songs on debut album Towards and a few too many of them bash their melodies on your head for three minutes and then switch off. The songs are catchy, but somehow they just don’t stick.
Though the handsome trio hail from Paris, their sound has much in common with other poptronica bands of their adopted home, London – imagine a twee Metronomy with a dash of Hot Chip. It’s all very pleasant and boasts sparkling production, but there are tantalising hints that they have more to offer. You savour the oncoming ambience of the untitled intro, or the way Antlers cleverly morphs from a cod reggae Vampire Weekend to a more freeform instrumental in its final minutes.
There was a gradual build-up to this album after the release of several EPs, and the long-awaited end result sounds a little polished and over thought. But they’re definitely a band to put in the ‘what will they do next?’ basket.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: False Start
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: STILL FLYIN’, HOT CHIP, THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE, METRONOMY
In A Word: Clean-cut
