EVERSHIP

The front cover art may be reminiscent of Kansas, but it's Tennessee that prog duo Evership hail from - by way of the 19th Century, if their promotional photos are anything to go by. Between their theatrical image, the tripped-out cover art, and that mean band logo, this is certainly a band who want to declare to the world that they're prog and proud of it, and that extends to the music on this debut album of theirs.

Whilst in terms of atmosphere it's on the lighter and more uplifting side of prog, in terms of technical execution multi- instrumentalist Shane Atkinson and the sprinkling of guest contributors certainly establish their credentials here, whilst Beau West's vocals allow for some nice vocal harmonies to be used and show that he's mastered the prog frontman's key skill of sounding profound and emotive whilst singing about weird nonsense.

On paper, then, it's a good mixture, but I did find my attention wandering here and there, and there were plenty of moments on the album where it felt like musically they didn't have much of an artistic goal beyond ticking as many of the prog checklist boxes as possible. It's a nice little album which will tickle the fancy of most prog fans, but I can't help but think that this is just the beginning for Evership. They've proved here that they can use the prog rock toolbox - now it's time to see what they can build with it.