ALBUM REVIEW: WE WERE EVERGREEN

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5TH MAY 2014

To many, the idea of three Parisians named after a type of tree and playing an array of tiny instruments could seem a touch too twee. Fortunately, We Were Evergreen manage to counteract any signs of the quaint and dainty with a truckload of talent. These three make music that’s playful, catchy and colourful – swirling modern myths and mysterious textures to create solidly good pop songs. Their debut album, ‘Towards’, is the perfect example.

We Were Evergreen aka. Michael Liot, Fabienne Débarre, William Serfass, originally trained at the prestigious Conservatoire de Musique in Paris – which could help to explain all those funny instruments. There are xylophones, kazoos, banjos and charangos, you name it, these guys can probably play it. As a result, the songs on ‘Towards’ are mesmerizingly dense, with heavy layering that can make them sound more like a troupe than a trio.


‘We have a visual edge…we make music that you want to be in and has images coming at you, colours and sensations’ Fabienne says, describing the album, and it’s certainly true. Songs like ‘Daughters’, ‘Best Thing’ and ‘Tambourine Like A Crown’ are warm and sunny, fusing plinky-plonk pop with pounding drums and tribal funk. There are more downbeat moments ‘Quicksand’, ‘Antlers’ and ‘Dormant’, but on the whole those colours and sensations they like to play with are bright, vibrant and whole bunch of fun.

Comparisons could be made to recent tour-mates Metronomy, or to Alt-J, something that makes more sense considering the album shares the same producer, Charlie Andrews. Either way, when they’re at their best, We Were Evergreen make music that’s near impossible NOT to dance to – and that’s just fine by us.

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