We Were Evergreen - Towards
- Written by Rob Crozier
A debut album from this Parisian trio is long overdue. After a few E. P releases the band are now in a comfortable place to venture into a full body of work and Towards is the result of their efforts. The album contains plenty of laid-back indie grooves and stylish Parisian cool. It blends a variety of styles seamlessly as it tries to provide a backdrop for the start of summer.
All three band members play a variety of instruments and all add vocals, allowing the band a great sense of artistic freedom. However, a lack of originality means that all the artistic freedom in the world can’t prevent the album being temporary and unmemorable. Despite this, Towards is well constructed with vocal melodies that are projected at the forefront. The twelve tracks that feature are all around the typical length of four minutes.
The first track proper, 'False Start', begins with a sway of euro synths and vocals are performed in a spoken narrative. 'Best Things' trades on choruses and the song’s ukulele and has more than a hint of Disney’s ‘Under the Sea’ vibe it. 'Tambourine like a Crown' jaunts slightly irritatingly along with an upbeat summer feel about it that’s pleasant enough whilst offering nothing new in terms of lyrics about dancing in the sun.
Further tracks such as ‘Quicksand’ attempt to drill down a bit deeper and the band attempts to strips back some of the earlier tracks to produce a moody track full of synth loops and reverberation. The lead single, 'Daughters', attempts to showcase the bands talents as the track starts simply enough but layers sound into a sombre and dramatic climax from a variety of percussive elements.
The bands singer Michael Liot works well with the female voice of Fabienne Débarre. Further use of Debarre could have brought a more interesting element to the album. Her vocals on 'Overnight’ and ‘Dormant’ provide evidence that these tracks catch the ear more so than most of Liot’s efforts.
The whole album is fine, in moderation. This is both a weakness and its strength. It’s certainly not ground breaking, and although it doesn’t offers anything new it is comfortable in itself and the band have shown their ability to produce an album suitably of the time without providing anything too offensive.