:: Evermore - Evermore (plus bonus DVD)

Evermore

Evermore has copped a bit of slack for this “best of” album. Can a band that is so relatively young make an album of all their hits without encouraging people to make snide comments? I don‘t think so. Besides Evermore hasn't really had enough hits to warrant shoving them all onto one album and charging you approximately $30. Just in case you didn't know, the New Zealand (yes, they are actually New Zealanders – we have a knack for stealing all their talent, just ask Russell Crowe) trio has only released three studio albums, not counting this 'best of’. Of those three albums, the boys have decided that twelve tracks were sufficiently big enough to repackage and sell again. Sure, there‘s a limited edition live DVD filmed whilst they were on tour with Pink, but that hardly makes this album worth it. Evermore are talented, don't get me wrong, but they're really not the kind of band you want to sit on the couch and watch over and over again. They're not Queen. They are not exciting enough to warrant a concert DVD and all the magic you get watching them live is gone when you put this into the DVD player. They just appear uninspiring and sound rather inadequate. In fact, they are so bad on this DVD it makes you not want to see them live, which is a shame because they're pretty good in real life. If you really like Evermore, but not enough that you already own/want to buy all their albums, then this for you, I guess. Admittedly, the hits are good, most of them transporting you back to the good old days of The O.C… those were the days! The boys’ have even included three never-before-heard tracks to tantalise fans. Unremarkable, these three tracks are just as good as their old stuff, infused with the same melancholic indie vibe and unmistakable vocals… nothing more, nothing less. But this album still feels like a marketing ploy intended to infuse life into a band that has fallen on hard times of late. Evermore really doesn‘t need a 'best of’ album and that's what makes it such a waste of money. In the end, this album is definitely not for Evermore fans, but is more suited to anyone who has a passing fancy for the boys from NZ and want to hear the hits without the hassle of changing albums. Just don't watch the DVD, it's torture.