It’s been a long time since Everwave teased us with the first single from their upcoming album, it’s been almost three years to be precise. So my anticipation was built up quite high.

The first track of the album, ‘Sleepless Engine‘, has in my opinion just a bit too much of everything. The frequent tempo and rhythm chances make it hard to get into the song, yet it’s still somehow catchy and makes you want to sing along, like actually a lot of Everwave songs.

Next up is ‘Invitation‘ which I like a lot more. The chorus is catchy, groovy and invites singing along. I also really appreciate Tuomas giving us some deeper and slightly rougher sounding vocals, that are just the way I like it.

‘Still Here‘ feels extremely familiar, yet I still haven’t managed to figure out what song it reminds me of. In addition to that, it’s just not quite as captivating as the other songs. But the additional female vocal by Anna Lampela are a nice addition.

‘Lo-Res City‘ with as just been released as the last single of the album is an ode to a place and time where things are simpler. It doesn’t give many ups and downs, but it works in its repetitiveness and kinda simplicity.

‘Alternate Ending‘ took a little while to grow on me. I could still live without the addition of the saxophone, although I must admit it well done and does add something to the song. Overall it’s catchy in a good way, and it has its own unique enough style.

‘Rainkiller‘ starts off with a nice guitar riff, but I find a bit uneasy to listen again. Mostly for the same reasons as on ‘Sleepless Engine‘, but in addition it also sounds a bit too familiar.

After a short calm intro, ‘Kármán Line‘ hits hard and heavy and fast. The song, which has also been the first single of this album, absolutely hits home for me. From the vocals right down to the synths, I don’t think there’s anything I would change on this song.

‘Smaller Talk‘ is another song that I like a lot. It’s a bit slower paced and because of that feels a lot more emotional and in its simplicity it feels grand. This song is a good reminder, that sometimes less is more.

Everwave end the album on a high note with ‘Trails In Time‘. It seems the songs with more clear vocals are more up my ally, but I still think it’s good that they have both. It just keeps things more interesting, both on the album as a whole, as well as on just this particular song. With its good 7 minutes run time could have otherwise turned out a bit boring. The two-minute-long instrumental part towards the and of the song builds suspense, before ending soft and peaceful with Tuomas singing in a way that almost sounds like a lullaby.

In the end, the whole album turns out to be very captivating, and it only needs a few spins to feel nicely familiar. Everwave took another step forward musically, and I’m very intrigued to see what the future still holds for them.

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