ALBUM REVIEW: We Were Evergreen ‘Towards’

With even a name that sounds like it ought to be sung, We Were Evergreen have come on leaps and bounds with their new album ‘Towards’, developing hugely from their previous 2012 and 2013 releases, whilst keeping that overall We Were Evergreen flavour… which is definitely a distinctive one.

Without the emphasis on the rawness and riffs of an electric guitar, We Were Evergreen have had to compensate with an entrancing arrangement of vocals and the oft-cited “changing textures” that makes each and every piece slightly different. Having moved away from “what had been a very democratic structure, where everyone shared in vocal duties” and shifting focus towards a sole lead, the band has undoubtedly better defined its own sound, but that’s not to say that harmonising didn’t work; it did – and still does where present – if anything, the cheery optimism of previous releases like ‘Baby Blue’ and ‘Chromosomes’ was created by blending voices. In a way, toning it down seems like a bit of a shame.

“It’s the idea that, whatever you’re doing, you are moving,” vocalist Michael Liot elaborates regarding the name of the album and prevailing theme. “’Towards’ is the idea that the album is the result of this evolution that we’ve had over five years.”

And there is definite progression. With the band coming from France and settling in London, this album has been described as a “fusion of the French lyrical tradition sung in English, married to a very anglo-pop sensibility”, illustrating how French and English styles can actually come together and work. That The XX borderline monotone makes an effective appearance in ‘Towards’ – in Quicksand, for example – complemented by foreign instrumentals to make it, well, not The XX. It’s something different.

Listen to 2012 release ‘Second Hand’ and it’s a completely different experience to, say, ‘Belong’, which is a more downbeat, more drawn-out pop-song. With memorable hooks and catchy rhythms, ‘Belong’ pretty much represents good pop music, bringing together all of the essences of tested Anglo-French music that worked before and dressing it up in a new way.

The percussion in ‘Antlers’ alongside the guitar really takes things back to the previous sound with a more orthodox light psychedelic twang about it, demonstrating that the artist is willing to explore further than just that initial… je ne sais quoi.

With the jaunty vibe restrained to make some room for the typical English straight-forward sobriety, what ‘Towards’ has done overall is combined bouncy pop music with a newfound sense of maturity and respectability. No longer just being happy days and sunshine music, ‘Towards’ is more of an art exhibition – a display as if to say “look at all the things we can do!”. ‘Daughters’ seems to be the focus of the album, and this really captures that idea of a display of talent. Whilst the video alone looks like someone’s drama GCSE performance, the lack of tonal variety is placed in direct antithesis to everything else making up the song, and it really does work.

We Were Evergreen’s debut album ‘Towards’ is due out on May 5th.

James Reynolds