When I was sent this EP I was told “it’s your new favourite band”. Sadly for Evarose with a billing like that you’re always, always on to a downer unless you literally are the best new band on the planet. There’s creating hype and there’s making silly statements. This is in the latter camp. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a bad band, but overhyping bands isn’t the way to get my attention.
Evarose are already getting a bit of a buzz with features in Rock Sound and other outlets, but I wonder how much of that has been caused by the band being all-female, rather than on musical output. I know I’m a cynic, but I’m a cynic that knows an all female band is a marketing man’s dream. ‘Creation Divide’ is not a bad record and Evarose are not a bad band. At all. I just get the impression on this EP there’s a bit of an identity crisis going on. I’m not convinced the band are comfortable in their own skin yet. They’re not as pop as Paramore or Hey Monday and not as grrrrrrrr as Hearts Under Fire and while I must stress that girl bands don’t have to just be either of those, there are elements of both in their sound. At times it tries to be catchy, at others abrasive. It doesn’t quite work, for me anyway, when the band try and marry the two together. I guess you could possibly compare them to a slightly more aggressive VersaEmerge if we’re doing lazy journalist comparisons.
‘Kissing teeth’ is a decent track and Dannika Webber can undoubtedly sing. When she flexes her vocal muscles it comes across pretty well. I get the impression that on an individual level everything is there, just when it comes together it doesn’t quite work. Room for improvement before Evarose become anyone’s favourite band.