Evermore: Dreams

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * * )

Brothers eh? There's a lot of them about in New Zealand rock and pop history. The Finns, Chunns, Fishers (goodshirt) the Tokonas (Weta), Tupa'is (Adeaze) ... those guys from Golden Harvest were bros, too, weren't they? And that's not counting the ones who ended up in different bands.

So if Evermore, otherwise known as the Hume siblings of Fielding - Jon, Peter and Dann - ever get accused of never making enough friends to form a band, then they could always point to a musical fraternal tradition that verges on the patriotic.

Then again, they could always point to their debut album and go: "See".

For Dreams is a terrific album. You can spot its influences a country mile away. You can accuse it of having "naive charm" in some spots. You can wonder at the Pink Floyd references in the music and the Tolkien allusion in the band name which has already figured in a song by some guys called Led Zeppelin.

But it's hard not to get wrapped up in its elegant pop-rock world with an approach that sounds like it's the result not so much of three guys bashing something out in the family garage but some neatly sympathetic connection between the trio.

Or maybe frontman and co-producer Jon Hume just bullies his siblings into what he wants - just kidding. But the tracks are definitely built around his expressive voice, which is framed by a mix of chiming electric and acoustic guitars, simple keyboards and much unflashy but propulsive drumming.

But what makes Dreams so captivating is its dream run of songs of luminous tune, heartfelt chorus and the aforementioned naive charm. Yes, it starts off with a bit of a theme - not wanting to get out of bed after a mindbending night's kip. But the novelty Floyd-ish intro of Dreaming Pt 1 is soon overtaken by one robust and deceptively deep and emotive song after another.

Some, like It's Too Late, For One Day and Are You Satisfied, recall Boy-period U2; others, like the glorious This Unavoidable Thing Between Us, come across like Radiohead from the pre-introspective years.

So, yes, they do sound quite like nothing from these shores - and perhaps it was sensible that straight after coming to local attention they headed overseas to tour and record this with big-rep American producer Barrett Jones. That sort of leap has been the undoing of so many bands, mainly in a case of either losing something in translation or over-inflating a paucity of song ideas. That's not the case here.

There's too many fine songs and great moments like when Jon sings "Help" like a fifth Beatle in the latter stages of It's Too Late; or when it all goes a bit The Wall at the start of Into the Ocean (Calling You) before winding up into its grand anthem; the Beach Boys-and-strings intro to Without Your Smile; or just the delicate touch behind the lovely lilting piano ballad of Dreaming Pt 2.

You do wonder if they are young men out of time and where they will fit in the big bad rockbiz. But in an age where too many blokes their age just want to rock without having to think too hard about it, Evermore show a boldness, a thoughtfulness beyond their years and yet more proof that there's nothing more dangerous than a decent tune. Especially one played by siblings.

Label: Eastwest