One of the reasons why I like this band so much is that they’re so utterly genuine about what they do. And Now We’re Even don’t borrow from other genres, they don’t pay lip service to what’s popular and they sure as hell don’t really sound like anyone else around either. And while ‘Winter Without You’ doesn’t always work, when it does work (as it does on the majestic ‘I Missed You’) you can’t help but admire a band determined to do something a bit different – and do it their way.
It’s difficult to determine the bands ANWE are actually inspired by. There’s elements of Dylan (‘If It’s Love’) and Rx Bandits (‘Winter Without You’) and even The King Blues (Youmii, Hawaii’). It’s a really interesting mix as the band rarely write two similar tracks. The vocal delivery is consistently interesting and well performed, lyrically the band can go off on tangents which makes for an even more diverse sound. And it’s something you really have to give them credit for – it’s all too easy nowadays to just go down the easy verse/chorus/verse route and the fact that ANWE mix it up plenty makes this a decent listen.